Insecurity — Summary

Jaxson1232Romantic

A hundred flaws no one else can see A hundred flaws you show to me

A thousand flaws no one else can see A thousand flaws you show to me

A million flaws no one would assume A million flaws I show them to you

A billion flaws no on would assume A billion flaws I show them to you

Show the whole poemHide the poem

Learn Poems app

Try the Learn Poems app

Everything from the website trainer, and more: new exercises, voice recording and sharing, reminders, quick review.

"Insecurity" is built on repetition and growing numbers. Each pair of lines repeats itself almost exactly, and the count climbs from a hundred to a thousand, then a million, then a billion. The speaker seems to be measuring how heavy their self-doubt feels, and the numbers get bigger the more they think about it.

There is also a shift in the middle. In the first half, the flaws are ones "you show to me," so someone else is opening up. In the second half, the speaker turns it around: "I show them to you." The flaws are now the speaker's own, and the speaker is the one being vulnerable. The line "no one would assume" suggests these flaws are hidden behind a confident surface, and only one person gets to see them.

The mood is quiet, anxious, and a little tender. The repetition feels like a worried thought looping in the mind, but the trust in sharing it gives the poem some warmth.

Read also

More by Jaxson1232

All poems
InspiredJaxson1232

Mother Made of Tears

I’ve cried myself a river More times than I can count Now I’m crying something else I’m crying myself a mother
InspiredJaxson1232

Breath from my lungs

I gave you the breath from my lungs When I was only a child As I held back sobs To make you smile
SadJaxson1232

Child born of Blood and Pain

She was conceived in a mind so full of pain Now its the only thing that nurtures her I labored with her silently, while others screamed their anger So its the only way she knows