Honesty

All I ask
is that you tell me the truth.

I don't want perfection
or smiles forged in fire
or a stab in the back
when you think I'm not looking.

I don't need grace
if it's hollow,
or kindness
that turns on me.

Give me awkward pauses,
trembling words,
the silence that follows
when you don't know what to say.

Let it be bare.
Ugly.
Truth.
Yours.

Just honesty.
I don't need sugar;
just say what is.

I can hold a jagged thing
as long as it's real.