‘Tell me what is beautiful, Mother.
Does beauty lie in me or my brother?’
‘Neither in you nor in your brother,
’Cos beauty’s elsewhere,’ said the wise mother.

‘How you look, or what you wear,
Isn’t beauty, ’cos it isn’t there.
Look inside you at beauty that’s rare,
The feeling of love and loving care.

‘The wish to do what you can,
For each and every living man,
From the time that early life began,
Beauty lies in the winner, and the also-ran.

‘Love your neighbour, and your friend,
From beginning to the end,
Beauty demands that you tend,
Even if driven around the bend.

‘Friends and neighbours, gods around you,
Win them over with friendship true,
I’m not saying anything new!’
Said the wise old mother of the two.

‘Beauty lies in having no fear,
In wiping away another’s tear,
In lending to all your listening ear,
And faith in God not what you hear.

‘Beauty means total trust,
For this beauty, pray you must;
Share with friends your crumbs and crust,
Even when you’re going bust.

‘You may have very pretty faces,
But if you’re lacking in your graces,
Never mind your dainty laces,
Of true beauty there’ll be no traces.

‘So what is beautiful, my little ones?’
Said the old lady carrying her buns.
It’s not being priests or being nuns,
It’s giving of yourself – in tons and tons!’

(The author is a prolific poet who has over 30 poetry books to his credit. He can be reached at ashoksawhny06@gmail.com/ www.ashoksawhny.com)