not just a canvas

You called me art to hang on your wall

Something pretty to look from a far

You traced my lines from hand to waist

But never asked what lives inside my heart

You said the room went quiet for a while

But never listened for what I speak

You loved the light that falls onto my skin

But never wondered what keeps me awake

My body is not just made for your eyes

For it has carried weight, tired but brave

I stayed whole when things broke down

Thus, it’s not something you can own or keep

I am more than the shape you see right now

I have doubts and dreams and scars I hide

I laugh loud, cry hard, and heal till now

For those are the parts I want you to know

If all you see is beautiful art to view

And all you want is what's on the surface

Then this is not for me and not for you

For I want to be known not just to be seen

I want someone to love the messy me

The parts that are not easy to understand

Not just the art and not for the pretty view

But the whole person underneath the sheet