What is Beauty and the Beast?

What is a face?

Is it a mask?

Or rather an identity?

What is a man?

Is he defined by the way he looks?

Or rather by the way he acts?

What is a beast?

Is it a monster enforcing cruelty upon the innocent?

Or rather a being trapped by its own disgust?

What is beauty?

Is it the social standard of physical perfection?

Or rather the personal standard of humble kindness?

What is love?

Is it a feeling of wanting for another?

Or rather a sacrifice for another against all odds?

From afar a question can be asked,

From afar speculations can be made,

From afar the answers are clear.

But when you look closer,

Upon the face of the man who claims to have it all,

With his handsome looks, but blackened heart

And when you truly see,

The woman with nothing to give and nothing to her name,

But a kindness that surpasses all

And when you dare to face,

The beast who wants for nothing,

Other than to be forgiven for his sins and transgressions,

You will find what love truly is,

As it has always been,

A tale as old as time.