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?