"Pretty"

I love playing dress-up--

I love putting on glossy lipstick

and smooth body butters--

I love coloring my eye lids with hues of glow

and polishing up from head-to-toe.

I love the feeling of looking in the mirror and truly thinking--"I look beautiful"

But I never want to be simply Pretty.

I want to be pretty and more--

I want to be inspiring, intelligent, real.

I want to wear pure, uninhibited joy

and smooth away my wrinkles with love.

I want to gloss my lips with kindness

and frost my eyes with forgiveness

I want to look in the mirror and truly think--"I feel beautiful--from the inside out"

For I have realized that joy, kindness, and forgiveness

are accessories essential to any outfit.

They are worth more then a pretty face--

and can cover any unseemly marks

I love to play dress-up--

I love the feeling of glossy lips

and shiny shoes--

But I have realized that dressing up on the outside

is never fully as beautiful without

love, passion, and compassion filling the inside.