call me beautiful

they tell me i'm beautiful
i snatch their words, examine them, knock them together to hear them ring
but the truth is not in them
though it may be true
i toss the words away in disgust, move on
but i wish that you would call me beautiful
i dare you to say it
i'll tell you everything you need to know
i'll open up and show you the me that no one gets to see
because no one looks
and when you've seen and heard everything
when you look at me and you see me for who i am,
when your glance goes not from the top down
but from the outside in,
when you can handle the light and the shadows,
the beauty and the ugliness,
then i wish that you would call me beautiful
and i'll snatch your words, examine them, knock them together to hear them ring
and maybe
just maybe
the truth will be in them