"Beauty is truth, truth beauty." - Ode on a Grecian Urn
Many have sought her, to praise or to own,
Many to her have sung or scribed,
But none can define beauty.
She runs as effortlessly as the streams of water
That trip and play over the earth,
Reflecting the verdure of idyllic scenery
And adding her own whimsical touch.
She sashays with the wind to create vibrancy
And sprinkles even more color on the palette.
Try to contain her, and she overflows.
She bubbles with delight, though all around her glows
With bitter urgency.
Like dewdrops adorning a window,
A stroke of light -
weightless, unlimited, unwieldy -
Can be caught, controlled and refracted
For all around to see
In prismic multicolor.
When frozen (for all else
is black as ice)
She illumines.
She crystallizes.
She shines.
Nothing can deter her.
Nothing can discourage her.
She shapes those around her to creatures of wisdom and strength.
She is in life.
She is in motion.
She is a portrait of peace.
The clamoring of a waterfall
And the queenly elegance of ocean waves
Reveal her in vignettes.
A creek, hidden in a forest
An oasis, soft and cool, in a desert
A cloud, towering and tall, in the sky
All embody her.
And yet she is still ephemeral,
Her form must slip away.
She can be likened to a flower
That does not toil or spin
But is bejeweled by its Creator.
She is like an elvin treasure-chest
That appears to those
Who seek her not.
She is indefinable. Yet how many have tried
To capture her with a mere image:
A meek, fair-skinned maiden,
A muscular marble goddess,
A bug-eyed Pixar model.
Beauty is none of these;
Instead she comes with a reverence
For the One who created her.
Comments
I'm reading this again...
...to savor it.
"The clamoring of a waterfall
And the queenly elegance of ocean waves
Reveal her in vignettes."
"Like dewdrops adorning a window,
A stroke of light -
weightless, unlimited, unwieldy -
Can be caught, controlled and refracted
For all around to see
In prismic multicolor."
Thank you so much for your
Thank you so much for your encouraging comments!
:)
I actually read this before and thought I commented, and I went back to read it again, then realised I hadn't!
I am so amazed at this poem; I think it deserves to be published. You wouldn't mind if I wrote it up and had it on my wall, would you? I just love every word of it. Like Bethany said, I'm stunned at your ability to portray something like this. What inspired you to write it? A huge well done to you.
Goodbye? Oh no, please. Can’t we just go back to page one and start all over again?” – Winnie The Pooh
Thank you so much, Maddi! I
Thank you so much, Maddi! I got lots of inspiration from the wonderful work on this site! At first I was going to write an essay, but a poem somehow became the result.
And of course I don't mind at all. : )
This was amazing...it's
This was amazing...it's funny, isn't it, how the poem was about how words can't truly capture beauty, yet you did such a good job! "With bitter urgency" really struck me, it was so perfect, right there....
Anyway, lovely poem, and thank you for sharing!
The most astonishing thing about miracles is that they happen.
-G. K. Chesterton
This is one of those rare
This is one of those rare poems that can really convey such a topic so abstract. This is better than any poem I could ever write. You need to write more poetry. (Remember that one about us humans being as small as sand compared to God? You have a gift for personification things like beauty and that.) Keep pursuing writing, and glorifying God through it, Hannah! You are great at it.
"It is not the length of life, but the depth of life." Ralph Waldo Emerson
Thanks to both of you! Your
Thanks to both of you! Your comments are so encouraging!
This is well written! I had a
This is well written! I had a literature afternoon tea last Friday, and all the girls had to bring a poem or book snippet to read aloud. As my poem to read aloud, I chose, "The Definition Of Beauty"!
Do Justice//Love Mercy//Walk Humbly
Tue, 10/07/2014 - 02:28
In reply to This is well written! I had a by Mikaela Grace
Oh my goodness, you are so
Oh my goodness, you are so sweet. Thank you so much, Mikaela! : )
Wow
There were parts of this where I just felt stunned by your ability to portray something so elusive and painful and exhilarating as beauty. You captured my own thoughts, expressing them better than I could have... What a brave undertaking to write about something which truly is as large as "life and motion".
"Try to contain her, and she overflows.
She bubbles with delight, though all around her glows
With bitter urgency."
I applaud you!