I lied when the ******* the street
asked me if I had a minute to help the environment.
I said I was running late.
I wasn’t running late.
But it was cold out,
and I didn’t want to give her any money.

I lied when the man in the hall
asked how my day was going.
I said it was going fine.
It wasn’t going fine.
But I didn’t think he really wanted to hear about my day,
and I didn’t really want to tell him about it.

I lied when the girl in the waiting room
asked if I had a pen she could borrow.
I said I didn’t have one.
I had one.
But it was my favorite,
and people often don’t return pens they borrow, even favorites.

I lied when the boy at the store
asked if I needed help finding anything.
I said I was all set.
I wasn’t all set.
But that was how I always answered that question,
and I didn’t really mind wandering around.

I lied when the friendly girl
asked if I wanted to go out for something to eat.
I said I wasn’t hungry.
I was hungry.
But I was also tired,
and I just wanted to go back to my room and eat by myself.

I lied when I sat down today
and wrote a poem.
I said a lot of things happened to me.
They didn’t all happen to me.
But some of them did,
and I’d bet the rest have happened to other people.

I lied just yesterday
while discussing truthfulness.
I said I was an honest person.
I’m not.  Nobody is.
But I don’t think that anyone noticed my lie,
and I laughed quietly to myself.
And I laughed quietly to myself.