Sticks and stones may break my bones
but words will always hurt me
I hide behind a façade
of nonchalance to try
to efface these scars
but words, harsh words
wounded me so deeply

how I longed for you
to see their effects
how I longed for you to care
to you it was always a game
you wanted to see how long
it took to break down my walls
you wanted to see my fears consume me

How little you knew that I was
forever afraid. Fear was always
buried deep inside my subconscious
that each little word you said
put another nail in my coffin
each day I was forced to see a
side of myself that I had always
wanted to hide away

Shame, that is all you ever made me feel
I came to loathe myself because of you
and your words. How little of me did you
really see, if you couldn't even see how
much every little syllable hurt? Your
diction cut me, your eloquence bruised me,
your honesty made me see something I
wanted to hide away. Your words, your
power, my realization of my own
imperfection, repeated over and over
made me realize how weak I really was.
The power of your words struck me deeper
than any cut or injury ever could.