The Beautiful by Gregory Corso

The beautiful is not only a picture or a scene, but the whole greatness of nature, an immense sky that opens like the blue mouth of a child, a circular lake that howls for marshmallows,

The beautiful is the step of harmony, the grass rolling in green, a child singing in no language, a fat woman dancing with cool roses.

And the beautiful is the ache in my heart that makes me feel more than real or perhaps, everything I ever wanted piled on my chest.

It’s the burn of inspiration climbing my back, a small funeral for the lost, while ecstasy cradles the leaves of evening.

This beautiful, still existing, untouched, that lingers like dew upon the window of time.

• Gregory Corso