Sometimes I Lie

by Alice Feeney

My turn to wear the fake smile now, the label still attached so I can return it when I’m done.

promotion. Each one of us is sitting here with a motive today. If you were to strip us all down to our purest intentions, the lowest common denominator would always be wanting to be listened to, needing to be heard above the noise of modern life.

it’s the kind of love that makes me feel sad and empty, a love based on habit and dependence; it isn’t real.

Grief is only ever yours and so is guilt. It’s not something you can share.

Once I know someone well enough to see all the cracks and blemishes, I don’t really want to spend time with them anymore.

I don’t avoid broken people because I think I’m better than them, I just don’t like looking at my own reflection.