When People Look at Me

When people look at me

they see lip tremors and shaky hands,

restless feet and clinking knees

that either stiffen or bend.

They see lost eyes

searching for all the right words.

They see a timid face

with a voice too soft a whisper to be heard.

Some would see an overconfident woman,

a person of high esteem

who probably thinks she's better

than all of those on her team.

Others would see my fashionably peculiar clothes,

never at par with the latest trends.

They see someone who dresses

oddly different from her friends.

But not even once they have seen me

as gentle, caring, and kind.

Not even once they have seen me

for who I am inside.

They see someone unfriendly,

tough, unkind, hostile.

They have never seen me

as someone who's worthwile.

When people look at me,

they could list a hundred flaws,

but only a handful

would see past the walls.