Our inner talk and how we feel about ourselves is very important. Take a moment to think about how you are treating yourself on a daily basis.
Global – This brilliant poem written by Abdullah Shoaib can be read both ways, and both messages are so incredibly powerful.
Read it below:
I’m very ugly
So don’t try to convince me that
I am a very beautiful person
Because at the end of the day
I hate myself in every single way
And I’m not going to lie to myself by saying
There is beauty inside of me that matters
So rest assured I will remind myself
That I am a worthless, terrible person
And nothing you say will make me believe
I still deserve love
Because no matter what
I am not good enough to be loved
And I am in no position to believe that
Beauty does exist within me
Because whenever I look in the mirror I always think
Am I as ugly as people say?
Now read the same words, but bottom-up (we’ve already rewritten it for you:
Am I as ugly as people say?
Because whenever I look in the mirror I always think
Beauty does exist within me
And I am in no position to believe that
I am not good enough to be loved
Because no matter what
I still deserve love
And nothing you say will make me believe
That I am a worthless, terrible person
So rest assured I will remind myself
There is beauty inside of me that matters
And I’m not going to lie to myself by saying
I hate myself in every single way
Because at the end of the day
I am a very beautiful person
So don’t try to convince me that
I’m very ugly
You deserve love and happiness. Let no one tell you otherwise… especially yourself.
by 
This is a very beautiful, brilliant, and important poem that I think everyone needs to read as understand. Many people do deal with a lot of rejection or negativity in their lives and it’s crucial to not let that negativity complicate your daily behavior or mentality about either others or even yourself. People struggle with that fact that they don’t fit into societies standards but this poem perfectly explains that everyone is beautiful if they can just believe it themselves.
Hey! This poem is really beautiful and in a very straightforward manner puts forth the idea of valuing and respecting one’s true self. I have, in a similar manner written a poem which can be read in these two ways, suggesting two different meanings. Please do reply to me so that I can email you the poem, beacause I would really love it if you could read it and tell me how I could improve. (I’m 15 years old) Thanks!
Hey Vedika. I’d like to have your poem and read it, so I could comment it back for you. Please and thanks.
you poem sounds beautiful
Wow this is an amazing poem. One of my best friends who has depression showed me this and it took me a while to realise what it says when read backwards. This poem has helped her a lot so thank you. A very beautiful poem.
I was wondering if I could have your permission to print a copy of this poem for my youth group. I believe this could help with some of the emotional issues these kids are facing.
Is this poem in a specific book?
it’s a practical reminder to literally flip your thinking. Just like you can flip subjects and predicates (like this poem does), you can negate every depressing thought (a lot of which are likely to be self-feeding half-truths) you tell yourself. You just have to find the beauty so that you can believe what you’re saying. Find a purpose. That was what I was missing for the longest time after my accident: something to work toward realizing. A dream, essentially, but one you can believe will come true if you work toward it. If you’re asking yourself “what’s the point”, use your imagination and find a “point”.
Abdullah Shoaib is the author of this well-known poem ‘Pretty Ugly.’ The poet expresses his interest in themes of body image and self-worth in the lines of this influential poem.