You tell me I’m pretty, but what if that is what I don’t see.

You tell me I’m smart, but what if that is what I don’t feel.

You tell me I’ll go far, but what if I grade myself as only subpar?

 

Not applicable. Not applicable.

That’s what I look like.

 

You say I make you laugh, but what if my comments are mean?

You say I have a heart, but what if I tell you it’s falling apart?

You say I am sweet when tart describes me better.

How long have you known me? Maybe the word is never?

 

Not applicable. Not applicable.

That’s how I feel.

 

If you looked at me on paper, all those comments,

Maybe they would be real.

 

I see, hear, and feel all different things,

And when I look in the mirror only sadness it brings.

 

I want to see what you see.

I’d trade my eyes for yours.

The things you say right now,

are what I cry at night for.

 

I can’t tell you why I can’t see what you see.

It bothers me each day that I fight to see me.

 

Not applicable. Not applicable.

 

Those words are written across my back.

A brand I marked myself with,

because esteem is what I lack.

 

Not applicable. Not applicable.

 

Are the words I fill my head with.

 

I can’t explain my frame of reference.

I can’t explain my preference.

 

Not applicable. Not applicable.

That is what I see.