Breathtakingly Beautiful.

I can't be sure what inspired it,
if it was years of being teased by the kids at school,
or coming from an nontraditional family,
or having all of America's 'sexiest' women
be pale skinned, stick thin, model types,
but she told me last night that
she is afraid to talk to men, because
she is scared that they will not think she is
beautiful enough.

Her face, pain stricken brilliance
pointed in my direction,
eyes burning through mine as
she gently stated the nightmare that she lives in,
terrified of reaching out because of what
she believes she is lacking.
And somehow her brown skin
curved over cushioned bones,
thickness over winding hips,
muscular thighs that still sway when she walks,
don't all translate to beautiful.

Lovely, don't you know that it doesn't take
blonde hair and blue eyes,
pale skin and visible ribs and hipbones,
or a perfectly placed beauty mark
to make you gorgeous?
There is love in those big brown eyes,
strength in your intellect
and passion seeping from your pores,
and if anyone ever tells you that
you aren't beautiful enough,
then they obviously have yet to learn
what beautiful really means.