your freckles are stars,
sprinkled across the sky that is your face
and a perpetual reminder that summer
is on its way.

your skin is the color
of coffee with cream
and it catches the light
in ways theirs never could.

your hair is tinged
with all the colors of the earth–
gold, auburn, chestnut, and coal–
do you know people pay fortunes for hair like that?

your eyes are brown,
but never dull:
they shine with your struggle,
your courage, and ultimately,
your triumph.