Newberry Medalist Cynthia Rylant has written many much-loved children's books. Her collection of poems, "God Went to Beauty School" includes this sweet take on God choosing to be a manicurist because He likes hands.
Whether or not you believe in a God (or Supreme Being or Great Spirit or Higher Power), in the middle of a week with dark, sad news, this lovely poem offers us a moment to pause and remember that the world is a beautiful place. Keep doing what you do, beauty pros. The world is a better place because you went to beauty school.
God Went to Beauty School
by Cynthia Rylant
He went there to learn how
to give a good perm
and ended up just crazy
about nails
so He opened up His own shop.
"Nails by Jim" He called it.
He was afraid to call it
Nails by God.
He was sure people would
think He was being
disrespectful and using
His own name in vain
and nobody would tip.
He got into nails, of course,
because He'd always loved
hands--
hands were some of the best things
He'd ever done
and this way He could just
hold one in His
and admire those delicate
bones just above the knuckles,
delicate as birds' wings,
and after He'd done that
awhile,
He could paint all the nails
any color He wanted,
then say,
"Beautiful,"
and mean it.
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