Gaze

I see you there.

I see you whole and I see that you see me

You see me and I see you pretend and I pretend too

Pretend you don’t see me; I’ll pretend I don’t notice by staring at you.

Your gaze goes through me as mine often goes through people

You pretend and I pretend, but our games are different.

Maybe you think you’re fooling me

I think you’re really fooling yourself, fully aware as you are

Paranoid ideas and self inflicted enigmas, what a smile

It’s all in my head, conceivably

Save for the rage, it comes from the act

I don’t oppose the denial as much as I do the performance

Play your game; just leave me out of it.

Or become a better actor

I’m easy to fool, try to be convincing

Don’t convince yourself.

Persuade me before you hypnotize yourself

Before you fall for your own tricks

It’s the least you could do.

If there’s anything at all to be done

What a smile.