I’ve been distracted much of the day by a stiff neck and an Amazon snafu, plus I went to a reading this afternoon, so I tried to make something out of this line I’ve had in my head since yesterday…

1
I want to tell you that you’re beautiful—
but you must hear that several times a day

I want to tell you that you’re beautiful—
but you already have enough on your plate

I want to tell you that you’re beautiful—
but you’re out with your friends, having a good time

I want to tell you that you’re beautiful—
but you clearly have other things on your mind

I want to tell you that you’re beautiful—
but you’re in the middle of your shift, busy at work

I want to tell you that you’re beautiful—
but you’re deep in concentration, reading that book

2
I want to tell you that you’re beautiful—
but I’ve never met you before

I want to tell you that you’re beautiful—
but I suspect you’d rather be ignored

I want to tell you that you’re beautiful—
but I’m not prepared to follow through

I want to tell you that you’re beautiful—
but I don’t want to disturb you

I want to tell you that you’re beautiful—
but I don’t want to make you afraid

I want to tell you that you’re beautiful—
but I don’t want to be that guy

3
I want to tell you that you’re beautiful—
but what would you do with that information?

(8 October 2017)