Told in the third person, this poem follows a boy with a crush on another boy who doesn't return his feelings. He admires the boy's brown curls, his eyes and his low voice, but when he says a shy "hi" on the playground, he gets ignored. The hurt is plain and simple: he feels like "nothing," like he "had no meaning."
What makes the poem sting is what he does next. Instead of giving up, he decides to change himself. He dyes his hair red, pins it up at night to get curls, and puts on blush and makeup, all in the hope of being noticed. The small, careful details make his effort feel tender and a little sad.
The title hints that the speaker may actually be that boy, which would explain the honest, close tone. The mood is aching and vulnerable. The last lines deliver the blow: the other boy couldn't care less about his looks, so all that effort never mattered to him.