Taking lies at face value.
How you don’t dare to delve deeper,
Into what is manifestly untrue,
Into prayers offered up to you,
Betrays the facade you fake,
A shallow reminder in every
Flippant remark you make.
I remain unsurprised,
Because it’s par for the course,
Your usual, enacted without remorse,
A flawed mask of insincere discourse.

The way you’re splintering me?
Is hindering me,
From becoming someone better.
I wish I could escape here,
Fly away, completely unfettered.
Stupidly, I always stay,
To be abandoned by you anew,
My pain a habitual tribute,
To the Saint I’ve built you up to be.
When will I cease this sadistic ritual?
And realize false idols aren’t worth praying to?

You accept my lies,
And I try to justify,
Your complete nonchalance.
Even as it breaks my heart,
Lying to myself, too, to protect you,
Has become more than an art,
Of careful lines and tiresome planning,
But a religion of daily sacrifice.

Jessie