I Want To Paint You Poem by Hal Caufield

I want to paint you.
Not to achieve immortality
For you or me
By the exquisiteness of your portrait.
But because, as impossible as it may seem,
You do not know how beautiful
You are.

I want to hold before you
A mirror that shows each delicate
Hue of the beauty that you are.
So that you can see:
How your eyes shine
Like a pale Caribbean sea at sunrise;
How your hair glimmers
Like a breeze blown
Kansas wheat field at sundown;
How you skin tone is soft
Like the finest, supple soltiss lace;
And how one smile from you
Can turn the most dreary, weary Friday
To the sweetest summer morn.

Unfortunately, I am no Leighton.
Indeed, I am no artist by any means.
I cannot capture the subtle hues
Or sketch the gentle curves
That make up your great beauty.
All I have is my paltry words.
And they do you no justice.
So please forgive my impotence.
And simply accept
That if I could lay
All the world’s art
At your feet.
Not one piece nor the whole collection
Could match your beauty in my heart.