Why didn't you tell me
How truly wonderful I am?
All those years I spent feeling
Like I was nothing but a sham.

I guess I can't blame you
For passing only what you know.
It's going to stop with me.
Feelings I'm not afraid to show.

If I won an Oscar, an Emmy or the Pulitzer Prize
I would trade them all
'Cause don't you realize
All I ever wanted in all of my days
Was to hear from you just a positive phrase.

For the rest of my life
I will have to put up a great fight
To silence your negatives
That would hurt worse than a snake bite.

I know I'm wonderful
I tell myself that every day
When I started to believe
It became easier to say.

If I won a Tony, a Grammy, even the Nobel Prize
They could not compete
'Cause don't you realize
What you pass on to children, it always stays
Let it be an award like parental praise.

Copyright 1997 Dolores Grider