Ne'Er A Ruby In The Rough Poem by Christine K. Trease

Ruby gleaming eyes at me, mirror of your past,
your beauty, ever shining, has never been surpassed.
The reasons you are beautiful are not for eyes to see.
The reasons are for hearts to feel, why you are dear to me.

Your great array of colors attributes to your life.
Accomplishments you've realized through hardships, work and strife.
Gleaming that has never dulled accredits to your soul.
Your endearing, subtle qualities were the things that made you whole.

Then, as your hair grew gray from age, and your tattered skin showed wear,
You never lost your glimmer, and you shined through your despair.
You took all life could cast at you and befittingly enough,
you remained a Ruby 'till the end but ne'er a Ruby in the rough.