You say I'm pretty

But I don't believe you.

I've spent my whole life,

Thinking it's not true.

I'm too short

And too curvy,

Too broken inside-

I'm not worthy.

My face is too fat

And the rest of me is too thin-

My feet are too small-

I just can't win.

My hips and shoulders-

Both are too wide.

My teeth-

I think I might cry!

My lips are too thin

And my nose is too big-

I've always been gangly,

Since I was a kid.

What? What's that?

You still think I'm pretty?

You're blind, I must say.

You can't really see me.

Don't you understand?

For all of that,

It's not my outside

That I've pulled out of a hat.

For all those imperfections,

I know I'm not ugly.

On the outside, that is-

On the inside, where you can't see...

On the inside,

I'm a monster-

All twisted with pain

And the wrath I incur.

On the inside,

I'm hideous-

Broken and bent

And nowhere near pious.

On the inside,

I'm black as pitch-

A horrifying girl-

But Outside won't snitch.

So you think I'm pretty,

And beautiful, too.

You have no idea

That it just isn't true.

That the smile you adore

Is one that I fake,

And my bright blue eyes

Are filled always with hate.

The laugh you find

'enchanting'

Is in fact a ruse-

You know nothing.

Nothing about my life,

And nothing about me.

You've never seen my inside,

So never say I'm 'pretty'.