You whisper like it’s truth– My body isn’t beautiful. And then I want the rivers to rise, want the trees to lean in, want the stars to unpin themselves and spell your shape across the dark. Let the sky spill its archive of light, let it fall open and weep the exact shape of your name.
I want my hands to become mirrors, quiet pools catching your laughter, so you can see what I see– how your skin bends light like a secret the world wasn’t ready for.
And still, you say I look at you like someone who’s come to take– but I was only holding still because your nearness made the world hold its breath. Your lashes moved like small wild things learning not to flinch.
Your body breathes softly like a small bird, sparrow caught between sky and storm, your chest rising beneath my palms– every sensation felt with a finger tip not a signal for danger, but a song in the making. And every time you shift, I hear the hush of wings folding, not in fear– but in arrival.
Copyright Malcolm Gladwin June 2025 When You Tell Me You're Not Beautiful