We're All Bad People Playing Pretend

How shitty of a person do you have to be

to undress yourself for a boy who doesn't love you?

To let substances pass through your body to numb your soul,

to try to fix pain with hatred?

Tell me how you feel

when you slip on that mask and put on a smile for the world,

when you tell yourself it was justified because you were wronged,

when you scramble to find good deeds to counteract the sins you've committed.

How do you walk around

masquerading as this person you're not

spilling lies through your teeth for your own self-preservation

burying yourself so you appear as the person you want to be?

Tell me how much hate you must have for yourself

to stay with a boy that consistently hurts you,

to cover for him when he has done something bad,

to love him still.

What kind of pity

do you have fermenting inside you

that's sitting, waiting, rotting;

why do you let it bubble up through your mouth?

Tell me there is no pain in your face

when you streak your cheeks with makeup

when there are teardrops falling from your lashes

and you cover it with mascara.

How do you live with yourself

buried in this self-hate

pretending to be someone you're not

drowning in your sinful "sweet escapes?"

You are not the person you make yourself out to be

take off your fucking mask

show the world who you really are

and accept that we're all bad people playing pretend.