All That Glitters

All that glitters

Is not gold

Layers of grime

And dirt

Can hide the

Greatest of beauty.

They say too

That beauty is

Only skin deep

But I don’t believe

That true

Beauty, outward

Beauty

Is fleeting

Flying away

Like a leaf

Lifted in a

Windstorm.

I’ve seen beauty

In places where

Others only saw

Ugly

Like children

Who have risen

Out of great poverty

And used their

Gifts to make a difference.

I was blessed

To be raised

In such a way

That outward beauty

Isn’t a true mark

Of a person

It is what

Can be seen

When you

Look under

The layers

And look at

The soul.

All that glitters is not

Gold

Life has taught

Me the truth

In that saying,

Instead I look

Beneath the layers

To find the place

Of true beauty.

© Michelle R Kidwell

September.18.2021