Beauty

Beauty

beauty
is in sunsets
and the sublime
of van gogh and turner
as much as
in freud and albright
and the pulverized carcass
of a worm
callously 
unmercifully
unwittingly
crushed
underfoot
following
a rainstorm

seek
the beauty
in all things
for real beauty
is understanding
it
in its totality
which surrounds us
unceasingly
in romanticized sunsets
just as much
as the swollen
purple legs
of an old man
holding on
to goodness

be aware
that beauty
is as much
in your crooked
yellow teeth
as the pedals
of tulips
in spring
making you
more
than a mere observer
but an active
participant
in it 
all

understand
there's as much beauty
in peeling paint
rust
and shattered glass
as in babbling brooks
warm
tender kisses
and 
sappy poems
like this

understand
not discounting evil
there's as much beauty
in a death gasp
as in a baby's
first breath
cause it's all
part of the same
landscape
when you're willing
to accept it