I Want to be Beautiful

But not in the way that you’d see on the fronts of magazines 

Not like the people modeling the modern makeup you’d see photos of on the walls of bright malls 

Not like the leading ladies you’d see on the big screens or streaming on flat screen TVs 

I don’t want to be beautiful in the blindingly big deal way 

I want to be beautiful like my mother doing her makeup in her mother’s bathroom mirror 

I want to be beautiful like my father as he recalls a story that he has told to me time and time again 

I want to be beautiful like my eleven year old cat as his black fur burns brown in the yellow light streaming through the open front porch 

I want to be beautiful, but not too beautiful 

I want to be beautiful in the way that it would come second to my personality

Like a bonus 

Or a plus 

That way, if one were to list all my good qualities, they would get to the bottom of their list then say:

“Oh I almost forgot! They’re also beautiful.”