The perception of beauty <br />Is only the opposite of <br />The perception of ugliness <br /> <br />Reality is different <br />From the made-up images <br />You see everywhere <br /> <br />She may be, brown or black, white or yellow <br />Carrying the marks of life, happily <br />Every scrape, every scar, every stretch <br /> <br />Children borne and fed <br />Not the spring of youth <br />But the sensuality of knowing, what pleases her <br />And the courage to explore, what pleases him <br /> <br />Not the coy freshness of girlhood <br />But the openness of passion unbound <br />Desire fueled by two simple truths: <br /> <br />That souls need to rejoice in sweet surrender <br />And the duality of reality, <br />Rarely matches up to the perfection of fantasy<br /><br />Anita Atina<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-perception-of-beauty/
