"I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;
I lift my lids and all is born again.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

The stars go waltzing out in blue and red,
And arbitrary blackness gallops in:
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

I dreamed that you bewitched me into bed
And sung me moon-struck, kissed me quite insane.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

God topples from the sky, hell's fires fade:
Exit seraphim and Satan's men:
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

I fancied you'd return the way you said,
But I grow old and I forget your name.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

I should have loved a thunderbird instead;
At least when spring comes they roar back again.
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)"

I have lied to my parents:
"I'm fine."
"It was wonderful!"
"I slept well last night."
"No...nothing's wrong."

I have lied to my friends:
"I'm not tired."
"I am happy."
"You did great."
"It was no problem."

I've lied to myself:
"I feel great!"
"I'm not sad."
"I can do this."
"It was awesome!"

No one ever guesses:
"Me too."
"Thank you!"
"Well I feel amazing!"
"That's great. Let me tell you..."

But people lie to me too:
"You look great!"
"It was no trouble at all."
"No, you didn't stammer."
"I'm telling you, nothing's wrong."

Don't we all lie?
To stay sane,
To stay happy,
To deal with people,
To make others happy...

Maybe not all lies are bad.
But maybe,
Maybe they are.
Maybe the lies hurt.
Maybe we are kidding ourselves.

What if no one lied?
Even to stay sane,
Even to stay happy,
Even to deal with people,
Even to make others happy...

Is the truth really that bad?
To say:
"That wasn't good."
"No. I don't like you."
"I'm having nightmares."

I will admit now:
It won't be easy.
People might get hurt.
Friends may start fighting.
People might stop being friends.

But people would say things like:
"I'm scared."
"I'm jealous."
"I really like you."
"You are a wonderful person."

So people might
Fall in love,
Make friends,
Get help they need,
Discover something new.

If you could not lie
Would it be so bad?
What would you say?
Who would you say it to?

Mom makes you smile for a picture in front of the bus
on your very first day of school,
"You only have one first day of kindergarten!" she says.
But every time you hear the scratching of leather seats,
You are back to that day
When tears rolled off your tiny pink cheeks,
onto the front of your Lion King tee shirt
The first time you ever had to be afraid that you
would never see her again.

Brother tells you not to worry about the boy that bothered you,
the impact of a fist on his right eye is a warning
that guarantees he'll never disrespect a girl again.
But every time you step in the pebbles on a playground,
You're still struggling to run just slow enough not to slip
yet fast enough to keep from being caught and held captive
by the first boy to ever kiss you without permission.

Grandma tells you to "appreciate today" every day
because you'll never get it back.
But every time you hear the crash of waves against a shoreline,
You're there with her in your favorite place in the world.
And the sun is overhead with looks of never coming down,
But you'd be okay if it did because you swear these colors of
the sunset don't exist when you see it from anywhere else
And you never feel so close to God as you feel right here.

Dad is sad when you're growing up
because you'll only be little once.
But every time you get the surprising scent of metal and grease,
You're five years old again and dad is getting home from work
and he lifts you up in a hug and you bury your face in his shirt and breathe in,
And you're confident that he will carry you to bed later that night
on that same shoulder when you fall asleep on the couch.

You're told over and over to forgive
and your mother keeps trying, too.
But every time a green van passes by,
you're a vulnerable twelve-year-old with a record that says easy prey
and you're back at that police station and you're both still crying
and forgiveness still seems so far away.

Everyone tells you that "first love"
is something you only feel once.
But every time September rolls around,
You're still staring back into the first eyes to look at you in awe,
His palms feel sweaty in yours but you don't mind.
And you can still taste his lips and smell the sweet mint Stride on his breath
and you feel everything.

It’s strange how they promise that you can't turn back time,

yesterday is gone,

today will only happen once.

Because I go back all the time;
And I still feel everything.