The Ugly Duck - 2004

“You’re such an ugly duckling!”
That’s what they say to me
“You’ll just account for nothing”
They warned, no thought for me
I used to listen, counteract
Their arguments with cries
That one day, someday soon
I’ll spread my wings and fly
But there’s no use in trying
They listen to me none
There’s no more use in crying
Their mind’s made up, it’s done
I missed my chance to change my tune
Conforming to the pack
I could have had it all, they say
I could have been a star
They could have made me beautiful
It wouldn’t have been hard
Some makeup here, some hair-spray there
To make me someone else
To this very day, they say
They cannot understand
Why someone sensible like me
Would choose to stay this way
I tell them now “I’m strong and free
Not bound by chains unseen”
“I could have lost it all,” I say
“I could have been a star
I could have made myself conform
I could have changed my God-given form
I could have suffered long and hard
I could have worked myself so much
I’d fall upon the ground
Instead I chose the higher road
That brought me to myself
I chose to be who I wanted to be
Who I always knew I was
(And just in case you missed the point
I’ll spell it out real slow
No matter shape or size or color
You’re beautiful as you are
The “ugly duck” is a beautiful swan
And he’s living inside you)