everyone’s a critic

i'd like to think

that i could

take criticism in stride

and embrace it

like an old friend.

after all, i'm not perfect:

nobody is.

when people ask me for criticism i am

noncommital

and i give

no real answer

because i feel like

i'm being mean.

so it's no surprise that

criticism feels like cruelty.

i want to improve

but criticism feels like failure

and i'm tired of failing

at everything i do.

i need my words to be cushioned

like pillows at the bottom of a cliff

because i tell people i'm not afraid of heights

but the drop is formidable.

i'll ask for your opinion,

but i don't really want it,

and yet i need it

i crave it-

as long as it's "nice."

everyone's a critic

including myself

but my own insecurity

doesn't numb me to the

suggestions

of everyone else.

and yet

i don't want

to listen.

no, i don't take criticism well.