Engaging with the Inner Eye

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

'The best part of beauty is that which no picture can express.' - Francis Bacon

'A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness.' - John Keats (Endymion)

It is the inner eye that sees most. I used to know couple who, to all outward appearances, might well have been described as ugly, yet they entertained a lot and friends always enjoyed visiting them  because they were such warm, friendly people who not only took a genuine interest in others, but would always lend a helping hand and ear to anyone in need. Their physical appearance was irrelevant; after a few minutes chatting with either of them. one forgot it as an inner beauty shone through.

Beauty is, indeed, in the eye of the beholder.

ENGAGING WITH THE INNER EYE

There is a beauty in ugliness

only they can see

who can warm their hands at hell’s hearth

and still feel an affinity

with nature

In the ugliest of creatures

there beats a heart

and will to live more splendid than anything

thought up by the art

of egocentricity

In the foul-smelling swamp

of human desire

left to its own devices for want of any insight,

find a lotus flower

shaming us

Yes, an ugly side to beauty,

often seen as worldly,

invariably posing for the press at hell’s hearth

and claiming an affinity

with nature

There is a beauty, too, in beauty

that’s a rare poetry,

braving the daily cat-walk of green-eyed gods,

yet can still feel empathy

with beggars

Copyright R. N. Taber 2009

[Note: An earlier version of this poem appears in Tracking the Torchbearer by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2012.]