By Clara V, TIWP Student

She wasn’t pretty
Pretty wasn’t the right word for it
She was beautiful, but not in the easy way
You had to have been looking for it in order to see it
and some people would miss it entirely

Because her beauty wasn’t in the shape of her head
but the way she held it high and confident
even when she wasn’t feeling confident herself
Her beauty wasn’t in the dark color of her eyes
but the way she looked at you with them
whether it was a look of respect, gratitude, disgust, hatred
or something unreadable 
It wasn’t in her thin and slightly short frame,
but the brave way she carried it, despite her smallness,
like she could win at any fight
It wasn’t in her full maroon lips, but in her smile;
rare but rewarding like a diamond in the Earth
And it wasn’t in the sound of her voice,
but in its serious and brave tone,
like every word she said was written in bold

She always knew exactly what to say
She wasn’t meant to look pretty, or talk sweetly
or make you happy
And that was what some didn’t like about her
But if she cared about your opinion, she never let it show
She kept her head up, dark hair pinned back
so that her entire face was visible
She was the full moon,
without even a sliver left hiding in shadow

and I was just a crescent