Words a Mother Never Heard (Wattys2016)

What Do You See

When you look at me

What do you see?

What I truly am

Or what you want me to be?

I am myself with you

I wouldn't know what else to do,

But is that what you see

Or are you blind to what is true?

Your opinion of me

And what it is you see,

I wish I knew

Because that's the way I want to be.

I might change for you,

But that is something I shouldn't do.

So I hope that

What you feel and see is true.

I know you love me for me,

That is easy to see.

I am glad you saw the truth,

Now myself I can be.

To me this poem of Nichole's is reflective of the inner battle she always had within herself. She wanted people to see her for who she really was, who she felt she really was. However she always questioned in her mind, if they really did or not.

I think she was trying to convince herself when I read this one. I knew my daughter well enough to know she always gave people the benefit of the doubt. In these words I can see her hoping that people would see, not just her outer beauty, but her inner beauty as well.

What people thought about her weighed so heavily on her mind. She felt she wasn't worthy or that she didn't measure up to their expectations.. I would tell her time and time again that she was perfect just the way she was. Unfortunately, I never realized how much it actually tormented her until I found her poetry.

Please, if you are experiencing feelings of self doubt or even self hatred, please, please find someone to talk to. Don't go through feelings like these alone.

It is here that I ask you to take a moment to vote.