BEAUTY-FOOL by Navratra

Skin whitening is the use of cosmetic products or services to reduce the amount of melanin, or pigment, in the skin to make it appear lighter. It’s a huge market around the world that exploits women’s insecurities about their appearance, estimated to be worth about $4 billion in India alone! India’s younger generations, however, are starting to fight back with body-positive messages, such as the one delivered in this poem by emerging poet Navratra from Jaipur, India.

Beauty-fool

by Navratra

Rosy lips, dimpled cheeks
your long black hair.
Celestial nose, pretty eyes,
your color is also fair.

Such attributes of beauty:
I am amazed to see such grace!
But more amazed to realize
something missing on your face.

Alas! These features of yours
are not attracting me towards you.
I see beauty in a brown-cheeked lady
sitting just beside you.

What power could this be?
I wonder for a while.
Then discover the miracle
is her alluring smile.

Stuck and confused I thought
while keeping her in my sight,
how beauty’s definition changes
under such brown light.

Finally, I reached my destination
leaving those ladies on the train,
I walked towards my home
with doubts still in my brain.

Morning came and my dilemma left
when mother cleared all my doubts,
she told me that beauty can’t be defined
despite what your thoughts may shout.

Instead, beauty is something
beyond the ways of this world:
it resides in our eyes,
as we see light and dark
in both sunset and sunrise.

Navratra is an emerging poetess (writer), public speaker and artist from Jaipur, India. Her poems and articles have been published in various national and international journals like Sahitya Kunj, Indian Periodical, Ode to a poetess, Spillwords, Setu Magazine, The Criterion, Lekhamanjari, Ink Pantry, The Lake Side Review and elsewhere. Apart from this, she is very interested in the thrilling trips of the country and the world and likes to write spontaneously on various subjects according to her observations.

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