once i asked you your favourite
colour, and you said, "the brown
of your eyes," so i put in one green
contact and told everyone that i
came out of the womb as a factory
defect, half-priced, damaged goods.


-


sometimes i am from canada and
sometimes i am from england and
sometimes i am from spain.

i've carefully tempered my accents
and plotted out my stories with
yellow and purple coloured pencils
on index cards. my origin changes
like the seasons.

"why do you lie to everyone?" you
ask.

"why not?" i reply.


-


i wear nametags that read "alicia"
and "liana" and "samantha," because
i want to know how it feels to be
someone else for a day.

you make me a nametag with my
real name on it, and i just laugh.

(later i slip it beneath my mattress
and spend the night staring at the ceiling.
see, i've tried myself on one too many
times, and the fit is never right.)


-


you call me your little compulsive
liar, and i guess that is supposed
to be somewhat affectionate.
or something.


-


i spin before the mirror wearing
my mother's wedding dress and
a purple wig, admiring the way
the train billows out behind me
like wings.

"where is the girl i fell in love with?"
you ask quietly, watching me
slow to a halt.

"she's gone," i say decisively,
and closing my eyes i begin to spin
once more.