Derailment by a balloon animal

What lies

do we tell

ourselves to

tell ourselves

to others,

besides for the

flaky truism

that we are

not lying to them,

or to ourselves?

*

A subway rocks

the modern lullaby

for passengers who

ooze and drool

for a different parent

that can be understood

and changed

and that is not

stained with the sweat

of others

long before they

get there

and longer, too,

before they get off.

*

Watch for people

watching for people

who watch people

back, and speculate

if anyone is

watching you

and if they see themselves

through your eyes

eyeing them.