Public Imagine

if everybody says it,
why isn't it true?
i get those looks, and that innocent sounding questionnaire
i've got assumptions up to my--never mind
i've got about three people a week
all indulging in conjectures and livin it up in
the conspiracy of smiles
hey it's cute and flattering but it ain't the way thangs is, baby
and doesn't that piss you off
i need to coordinate my reality and my imagination
three cheers for confusion and illusion, but happiness truly arises from
a cute little place called the real world,
just mostly when things go right though
i guess i could do something about my situation
i'm right there, as we all know
but i can't just bring it up in conversation:
"hey, yeah, uh, y'know, what people are saying?
why can't it just be true?"
i did that in high school to a boy as a joke on our friends
our buddies thought we were for real
...unfortunately, so did my fellow prankster
....
now, these were two different boys, totally different i think
one, for instance, was a leprechaun
(we'll leave it at that)
i seriously doubt the same method would work on him
but wouldn't it be nice?
if things were the same as
everyone thought they were?
this would backfire in a few instances:
you would die if you didn't send along a chain letter,
kentuckians would be shoeless pregnant incest freaks (i mean
more so than usual), etc.
ah, but who needs that silly categorical imperative
make a small exception in my case
....
what? me do something?
that would destroy my philosophical perch
from which i demystify and remystify the situations
which make me want to write such demented verse
plus that would hurt my feelings if the answer was no
and i can't afford to lose friends
...or feel foolish
if i don't feel that strongly about it, then maybe it's not worth
worrying about
but it's obviously worrisome enough
to merit a piece of writing
maybe just because it's current events
and therefore fresh on my mind
probably not
who am i kidding
i think about it more than i would ever admit
but you won't tell, will you?
you'll keep my secrets, right?  good, glad to be understood.
how do you feel about this?  are you an intended audience?
would you go tell him for me?  pass him a note in study hall?
i'm chicken
okay the study hall thing is a lame joke, sorry
besides, who passes notes these days?
you can't send email without it being read by the government
and scanned for revolutionary words
notes passed in study hall are often read in transit
i hate everyone knowing my secrets
that's why i write them down
--nobody reads literature anymore
everyone talks
everyone gossips
i wish they'd stop
they're making me jealous of my popular image
and the more jealous i get, the more apt things are to change
to tell the complete truth
the more happy i would be
though i do enjoy living vicariously through other people's opinions
it saves me a lot of explanation