He says he loves me
He says that my smile glows of hope
And laughter
And wisdom
He says that I have this glow in me
That radiates out
Embracing life
He says I'm enough

But he only sees my reflection
And if he tried to skip a stone
He would see the perfection
Transform
Create shapes not welcome
Let him peak
At the murky bottom
Filled with treasure and trash
All covered in slime

My smile,
Is crooked
Has yellow spots and cavities
And the only thing that it beams
Is the breathe of my last catastrophe.

He calls me wise.
Only because he has never witnessed
The mistakes I step into,
The mistakes I give one more chance,
The mistakes that haunt in every corner-
Even the corner of my smile

He says he looks me in the eyes and sees hope.
I wonder where.
For when I glance at them
There is only emptiness,
And despair,

And the only thing I radiate
Is a warning
Do not tread that path
To the one lake
With the pretty reflection
It is just a mask
And though you may love a beautiful mask
A mask is not enough

But he says a mask can't mask everything
A mask can't mask
How I look up
When I'm on the brink of tears
As if the sun will wipe away my worries
A mask can't mask
How when a hand is outstretched
My whole being is clasped around it
A mask can't mask
That light that shines out of you.
Because,
Darling,
That light is too bright,
For even all of your self doubt,
Worries,
And the world,
To burn it out.

And a mask can't mask
And a skipping stone won't transform
That I love you
And because of him
I think
I can love me too.