A rhyming poem about the potential for beauty in the newborn child ... or newly hatched bird.

This morning my wife called me to come see
a mother robin feeding her hatchlings
high up in their nest. Baby birds may be
some of the ugliest of Nature’s things.

All I could see were three featherless heads
with wide open beaks wobbling atop three
scrawny necks demanding they next be fed.
‘Twas hard to see how pretty they’d soon be.

Yet, in a few short weeks’ time these ugly
birds become beauties much admired by all.
Likewise, newborn humans, always cuddly,
may not within the realm of beauty fall.

Mothers’ eyes see in a newborn beauty
that may be unseen by menfolk, who lie
and say, “What a pretty baby!” Duty
requires this, not to make the mother cry.

And yet, many an ugly newborn child
develops into a beauty later,
where appearance and manner reconcile
with its potential to become greater.

Those who see all newborns as beautiful
see newborns’ potential as viewable.