When I tell you “You are beautiful”

When I tell you “You are beautiful”
It is not the brilliance of your smile
Or the color of your eyes
It is not your physique
Or your sexy new style
It is the substance inside that makes you so
Your strength, your courage, your wisdom.
The most beautiful people are not the bodies of perfection
Plastered on billboards and on covers of magazines
It is the beauty of those who can smile
when they have every reason to cry
Their faces are filled with laugh lines
Eyes that mirror the perils of their journey
The young woman who brings food to a homeless vet
A friend who reaches silently for your hand offering quiet courage
True beauty is not simply youthful innocence
Though it is precious with promise
Real beauty takes time to perfect
The maturity of honor
Joy of experience
When I tell you “You are beautiful.”
You have earned that glorious epitaph
A life well lived
Shared with love.