there is a phenomenon
called the halo effect
where people assume
because a person is
physically attractive
they have inherently
more worth than someone
less aesthetically appeasing
a condition compounded by
spcial media and the
cult of puerile celebrity
worship based not on any
real merit whatsoever
just a longing to feel
as if they can be
considered attractive too

in my life i have known
some of the most beautiful
souls that made my heart
ache at their glory
even as outwardly they
blended into the scenery
and i have seen the ugliest
hearts beating inside a
paper mache shell shaped
in the ideals of artistry
shining stars that blinded
enough to conceal just how
vapid and shallow beauty lay

a pretty face is just that
temporarily masking the
truth of character beating
just beneath the surface
while a glorious heart
whose beat can reach
the masses with its fire
is the defintion of an ideal
time cannot hope to erode
something special you cannot
manage to photograph yet can
ensnare your mind with the
subtle wonder of what
beauty can actually mean

media chooses to propagate
this fallacy because it is
far easier to develop a
crush than it is to develop
a meaningful connection in
the mere snippets of time
the average attention span
eyes darting to the next
shiny piece of fluff being
pushed into the peripheral
selling ideas on false ideals
rather than engaging something
worthy of being developed
plasticized images of what
they have determined to be
true beauty in a world so
bereft of any real depth

the shittiest day may begin
with a breathtaking sunrise
just as the best days can be
found beneath dour skies
it is the tiny pieces that
we manage to grasp that shows
the beauty hidden within
and people are no exception
i proudly wear my ugliness
as a badge of honor as i
weep at the shards of beauty
as they carve their way
through my doldrum days
happily accepting the blessing
of momentary wonder in the
heart of temporary forevers
eschewing halo effects and
false aesthetics for the
actuality of beautiful polyps
writhing in synchronicity
in the darkness onto time
can ever hope to fully expose