Random Contemplations

Every place on earth Has something left behind. A little piece of ourselves Forgotten in our passing by. Open spaces by the parking lot Where kids played hide-and-seek. The benches by the roadside Where people laughed and talked. Dog-eared books in libraries Worn down by eyes that read them. Apartments and bungalows full of life And the touches of their past owners. Those little acts of kindness Warming the hearts which see them. Names, millions, each unique Containing souls, spirits and life. Each one of us on earth Leaves something behind. Small or big, an indelible mark. A footprint, a legacy― A gift to the rest of the world

"Beauty is everywhere" we say Yet define it, we cannot. Byron idolizes the woman Wordsworth, nature English teachers read poems "Words are beautiful!" they say Historians admire crumbling caves and rooms While we hang paintings on the wall We look outside. Out the window; of ourselves "The World may be harsh, but it's beautiful" We say. Then look in the mirror At the figure standing there Suddenly, beauty disappears! And ugliness remains. "Appreciate beauty", we say Then are we a flaw, an exception? Saying, "Beauty dwells not within me" And yet, we claim, "Beauty is everywhere"