Boys Don't Make Pretty Girls

Boys don’t make pretty girls,
and unfortunately, for me,
I’m the straight-shooter
often mistaken for the butch;
the muff-muncher.

Guys don’t like girls
in loose sweaters and no make up.
Guys don’t like girls
who look like little brothers.

Or sickly orphan boys.

They say money doesn’t buy happiness;
it buys a girl’s self-esteem.
But the bills just pile up
and the pantry slowly empties.
I don’t have the audacity to call this boyish girl
beneath this skin
pretty.