Why can’t I see the wonder that you see

Why can’t I take in the kind words you say?

Why can I only shirk

Push the kind words you say away

I just see the spikes

And the spoils

The twisting hatred acrid and in my teeth

And everywhere else

The kind words they don’t match

The soft rounded words

Gentle

Caring

Grating against the sharp pointed sneers dogging me

Haunting and unrelenting

Thanks for reading. This short story/ poem was inspired by the feeling of inadequacy I’m sure we all feel sometimes and also the times when we try to give our friends compliments that they find hard to believe. Thanks D x