Rajah

Before the timeless ages of the kings,
Beyond the endless stretches of the seas,
Behold a land enclosed in mystery.
Its secret forests verdant; waters teal;
Its mountains massive; rivers running deep--
'Twas India, this place of the unknown,
Whose land was veiled by shrouds of the arcane.
Explorers dreamt of visiting this scene,
For never had another history
Held such a nation filled with mystery.

A dark and handsome man with ebon hair
Was rajah in this land so far removed.
His palace housed the most expensive things,
And ladies longed to kiss the rajah's lips,
But he cared not for girls or treasures vast,
For his impassive eyes could never see
That beauty was a subject to be seen.
Instead, the prince lived only by his reign.
The handsome rajah, prisoned by his throne,
Thus forced himself to live his life alone.

A lady sat within his garden green
To watch the rajah when he took his walk.
Although she was a different race than he,
She loved the rajah for his princely heart.
He always ruled his people truthfully,
And she admired his honest modesty.
Too shy to make confessions to the prince,
Content to watch him walk with noble stride,
The girl would sit below the garden's trees
To watch the rajah while she hugged her knees.

The rajah took his walk one afternoon
Before the sleeping of the blushing sun.
And as he took his turn around the grounds,
The lady took her place below the trees.
She hid behind the branches when he neared,
Then followed Rajah through the garden's blooms.
And when he sat upon a bench of stone,
She sat behind him over willow roots.
The rajah saw her sitting by the tree
And asked himself, "Why does she stare at me?"

"Because my skin is darker than is hers?
Should I return the stare because she's white?"
He shook his head in shame and disbelief.
"The pigment of our skin does not compare
To what's inside our bodies and our brains.
For are we not composed of the same things?
My Asian blood is just as thick as hers,
And if my skin is pierced, the blood will run.
Although we are diverse because of kind,
Still yet we share an equal heart and mind."

The rajah bravely turned to talk to her,
"I only wish to say one simple thing:
Don't stare at me because I'm not like you.
The contrast in the colors of our skin
Can mask the many likenesses we have.
Our tears, our blood, our feelings are alike.
I realize people from the West are white,
But trust my word on what I what I say to you:
While in this country, where you don't belong,
I would not recommend you stare so long."

The woman shook her head and smiled at him.
"I am not gazing at your darker skin,
But at the darkness in your handsome eyes.
What are you thinking with that pensive face?
I wonder at your honor and your grace.
Such noble, princely features that you have!
And no one can resist that ebon hair--
A splendor that the West does not possess.
Forgive me if it's you whom I adore;
I've never seen a man like you before."

The rajah had been taken by surprise
By praise and honor given by the girl.
He silently reflected on her words.
She knew the sharpness in his darkened eyes
Revealed the knowledge of his sharpened mind
Behind what she had called a "pensive face."
And from her words he realized in the end
His darker skin was not what made her stare.
The rajah should have realized from the start,
The girl would judge his spirit with her heart.

Her touching words and vivid emerald eyes;
Both broke away the shield around his heart.
He now saw beauty everywhere he looked
And turned to view the girl beneath the tree.
The lightness of her skin was like her soul--
So light it lifted Rajah to the clouds
With happiness he saw within her smile
And courage he discovered in her face.
These parallels were no coincidence--
The outer beauty showed the inner sense.

A gaze is always never just a gaze,
For with that stare, a person may unearth
The hidden wonders of the subject's mind.
So don't be frightened modest by a look,
For it's a person's chance to learn much more
Through meanings and expressions of the face,
And don't forget that all your differences
Display the great Creator's signature.
Discovered by the rajah in this rhyme,
One's inner beauty shows through all the time.