Beyond the Brilliance

The dazzling display of a macaw’s feathers

A thoughtful cobalt with downy gold,

Toucans show off their soft white cheeks

A splendid sunset captured on their beaks,

Swans don the most elegant attire

A stygian mask on a milky dress,

Lovebirds are sweet, loving little fellows

Their fiery crimson fading to an electric yellow.

But though I’ve seen many a bird,

Seen many vibrant hues, in feathery display,

None is as lovely, none touches my heart

Like the pigeon’s soft minimalist gray.

I love their sweet, gurgling coos,

How they peck seed from outstretched hands,

The whole world may see them as pests,

But I love their speckles and dark gray bands.

Because they don’t brandish brilliant hues,

Should their beauty be ignored?

Are all the precious golden things

Colored like an exotic bird?

Is there no beauty in the comforting gray

Of your grandma’s wise, time-bleached hair?

In the big gray clouds that roll over town

Bringing the smell of rain in the air?

In that vintage gray photo in the attic,

Is your great-grandpa's smile not as bright?

Is it not the smoky gray charcoal,

From which a fire erupts on a cold winter night?

And us, ourselves, we’re not black and white,

Neither angels nor devils,

Wrong or right,

Within our very souls, there’s a mix of both worlds,

We are but shades of gray.

Beauty is beyond any hue,

Be it violet, crimson, cerulean blue.

It's in the smoky sea, with the gray dolphins,

On the moon’s gray surface which appears golden,

Beauty does not need any shine or shade,

And often it resides in plain, undecorated gray.