1/24/12

You're a Gem
By Linda M. Crate


My eyes were transfixed on some gems,
They were the black opals of your eyes,
The ivory of your teeth; the ruby of your lips.
They were the pyrite of your golden locks,
They were the pearls of your bare flesh -
They were the the amethysts of your tongue.

You're a gem to me, I wish you could see.
But I hear you sigh about how ugly you are -
And how your angelic beauty brings you down.
I wish that you could see the things I see,
Because you're worth more than tarnished silver.

Her eyes may be the prettiest jade stones,
Her hair the beautiful black of an onyx,
Her lips the lovely dark pink of garnet,
Her skin the clearest white of diamonds,
But her soul as obsidian as a lump of coal.

She is the tarnished silver not you, my friend.
Because you, my dear, are simply a pretty gem -
The prettiest of gem stones that I've ever seen,
And I'm not just saying that because I love you.
I say these words because they're honestly true.


- - -
Linda Crate is a Pennsylvanian native born in Pittsburgh yet raised in the rural town of Conneautville. Her poetry has recently been featured in Magic Cat Press, Black-Listed Magazine, Bigger Stones, and Vintage Poetry. One of her short stories has been featured in Carnage Conservatory and she has an upcoming short story for publication in Dark Gothic Reconstructed Magazine in April 2012.