Comment Contest

I ask my friends: please tell it like it isn't.
Those who pretend that telling like it is
deserves some sort of prize - escape the prison
of notional sincerity, and please,

lie through your teeth, go on and stroke my ego,
assure me that I'm great beyond belief;
remember we're simpatico, amigo,
no need to be succinct, laconic, brief!

Remember, it is nothing if not karma
and surely I'll reciprocate in kind.
We'll wear each others' praise like shields, like armor,
ignoring any criticisms we mind.

When asked: what do you do, say I'm a poet,
and stick to it. They'll nod as if they know it.