(“Eye of the Beholder” detail, 2020, original encaustic)
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder
But then again, so is everything else.
(11/19/25)
It's a circle of confusion; it's the path long and dark.
It's trying to complete the puzzle that's missing the biggest part.
It's the flower without petals, wondrous yet left behind.
It's a world of imagination that comes from nobody's mind.
It's a lie that made me feel better, though I know it'll never be true.
I guess you could say this also the way I feel about loving you.
I'm often in a world of confusion, walking that path all alone,
and I know without that single piece, that puzzle will never be done.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so is hate and scorn,
and those petals that once grew here are now but bitter thorns.
So, tell me another lie but say it honestly,
and whisper how you really feel about loving me.
Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder Poetry Contest //Sponsored by: Crystol Woods
Contest Judged: 8/14/2025 5:19:00 AM
( 1st Place )
Written: August 07, 2025
They say stillness is absence, an empty space between worth noting,
but I have heard its melodies in the pre-dawn chapel where stillness reigned
and still the walls exhaled calm.
I have found stillness and not loneliness---
but in two hands clutching without speaking,
the heart knowing inside out
language would only raze.
Silence is like sunlight before it shines,
the tranquility after I sleep and
the reluctance before "I forgive you",
It grips what chaos cannot express--admiration, agony, dread.
Even when grieving and when at a loss for words,
calmness is at hand and says it all.
So let the world fill with echoes.
With clamor and vivid proclamations.
I will still turn up beauty.
In the lull between storms,
In the hush between instinct and doubt
In the sacred calmness, that hark,
Not to respond, but to understand.
Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder Poetry Contest
Crystol Woods
Her man friend, grey, over the hill, and older
He's cheesy, conning, plain, and a freeloader
She's in her twenties and smart
Her friends ask why this old fart
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Her friends are so puzzled and think something smells
They even ask what happened to her brain cells
Break wind and smell the roses
Please don't take his proposes
She followed her own heart and the wedding bells
For someone else's trash is another’s treasure
Who are we to point and object, and measure
Maybe her man has a good side
And she's in it for a short ride
She's free to do what strikes her whim and leisure
Beauty in the eye of the beholder
and such as it is I behold myself
and I am beautiful for all things,
that God has granted and created
So be it is as Himself
He too is beautiful and I am of I am
in all things that my eyes Sees In Front of Me
disguise the universe the lands the seas
all the waters even the rain in the trees
all things are beautiful
because beauty is in the eye of the beholder
as I am of he fine
Behold the beauty in me
All things are expedient
All Things Are righteous
All things are encouragable
All are things pleasantries
I am one of these
I am beautiful indeed
For I am of I am and in Him I am
because I behold I am
The eye to Beholder
And to beholder use me beautiful
NELLA’S BLESSING
If beauty is in the eye of the beholder…
what a wonderful world this would be…
if everyone was blessed to behold beauty
in everything and everyone they see.
Truths, I believe, are not unique,
They are common to everyone;
But truth often is not what people seek,
To whom then, does the truth come?
Wisdom is the product of a life lived well
Some hard work, some pain, and some fun;
But the right recipe isn’t something to sell,
To whom then, does the wisdom come?
Love is something to give and receive,
Though we may not know who to expect the love from.
Selfish love only works to deceive,
To whom then, does the love come?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,
You may even find beauty inside of this poem,
The ugly duckling gained beauty only when it got older,
To whom then, does the beauty come?
Endings may be another beginning
We won’t know until our time’s done
The losers may really be winning,
To whom then, does the ending come?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
bearing down their thoughts of judgment
heavy on your shoulders
if only you could see our world and all of its variety
You hide as though in character
Diluted personality
embrace your differences
take the risk
embrace your individuality
Care less for rules stowed upon by Generational society
whose intentions are to distinguish your purpose and morality
your irreplaceable and one-in-a-million contributions to humanity
Today’s blessing goes out to anyone
who has ever been made to feel
they are different….
ugly,
unattractive or bizarre.
May you be blessed to remember:
beauty is in the eye of the beholder…
so look in the mirror and BEHOLD
just how beautiful you are.
Stop and smell the roses even if they aren't there
Stop and smell the flowers even if they are dead or bear
Stop and smell the roses because each petal has a different scent and every curve is a masterpiece, like a Renaissance painting
Pass by a rose and you may miss a lifetime
Pass by a daisy and you may lose your smile
Pass by a sunflower and your nightmares could start to become a sad reality
Appreciate what you take for granted or your heart will hibernate instead of bloom
There's a simplistic complexity that is painted to the curves of every rose
How can something so small hold so much beauty
When you can answer this you're eyes can truly see, your heart will smell grace, your ears can feel the future
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so what do you let your eyes hold
Whatever it is, remember before you get too old
Enjoy the event of a white rose
p.s. don't let the world distract you from the paintings on the petals...
Beholder…
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
How many times we have heard it so
But as the sadness drains the warmth and I grow colder
I turn right, then left, but have nowhere that I can go…
So once again I retreat within, within the shadow of the night where I am not seen…
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
How many times has the cliche proven true
And as confidence fades away, the days pass as I grow older
Looking ahead I now see what I need to do…
Incapable, I cannot escape the fear of the failures in my life…
So I retreat within, within the shadow of the night,
Where I cannot be seen….
…I close my eyes to digest all that I have seen
I filter through the mire so the picture is crystal clean,
I try to spell it out in rhyme, in the hopes someone will see
And put an end to this eternal misery….
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Isn’t that the way the story is supposed to go
But as light gives way to darkness, and the night is growing colder
I see in my own heart what it is that I have to show….
That the beauty is in the eye…
The eye of the beholder.
Told beauty is in the eye of the beholder
I realize I’m getting uglier as I grow older,
My fair skin is now blotched and fine-lined
And any beauty increasingly hard to find.
Mirrors, constant purveyors of bad news,
Only bring solace when I realize, for sure,
People who look at me see different views!
Written July 16, 2022
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Fear — in the hands of the controller.
Love hides in the heart of a stranger.
Life waits quietly in the arms of the comforter.
But every day,
The struggle grows harder.
The weight grows heavier.
The road grows longer.
Life is a test —
Each scar a question,
Each tear an answer.
You must grow stronger.
Build your bridges…
And pray you make it over.
But bridges burn.
And roads collapse.
And sometimes the only hand you clasp
Is your own — trembling in the black.
And when the dark calls out your name,
You whisper back — it sounds the same.
Because even the broken long for love,
Even the lost still dream above.
So I’m always perplexed when I listen to Ani DiFranco singing “I’m not a pretty girl.” I never got that because I always thought she was a pretty girl. Maybe I’m quirky that way. I mean, maybe not drop dead gorgeous or super model but pretty nevertheless. And they always tell us that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I find a lot of models to be patently boring and uninspiring with their cliché looks and figures. Worse still, a lot of the supermodels are shallow and self absorbed. I know we’re not supposed to use the “B” word but a lot of them are just total brats.
You’re a pretty girl
at least to one beholder
I hope that’s enough
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Wonky lines, dabs and smears
Displayed on a canvas
Interpretation a perspective
I see chaos
You see meaning
I see an ugly mess
You see art
I ponder at the abstraction
You perceive form
I struggle to understand
You marvel knowingly
Here we both stand
Two clashing perspectives
Neither right,
Neither wrong
But each convinced
Sure we are correct
Failing to comprehend
The alternative viewpoint
Clinging to our narrative
Closed to a different understanding
Same input, different output
A metaphor for life
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