Is Beauty Fleeting

Is beauty fleeting?
I think that it's not.
It burrows down deep
To escape from the rot
Of this endless malaise,
This marching of days,
And reveals itself under
A shallow shell plundered
Of youth and of grace,
Content in it's place
Beneath all that means nothing,
Beneath all that deceives,
Revealed in sweet moments
When its truth is perceived.

So, is beauty lasting?
It certainly is.
It shines from within
And is thankfully his
Who has wisdom to see
The joy that proceeds
From grace now unfettered,
From flesh so unsettled
In age and disease,
Content and at ease
Within the truth that it holds,
Within the care it reveals,
Ready and willing
To be called on to heal.