The Poems of Philip Hamilton

Lie

Dear Angelica,

I may have told our parents something that'll get me in huge trouble later... if they find out what I said was a lie.

I always try to avoid lying because I know it's bad. I don't lie that often, especially to Dad and Pa...

Okay, that's a lie.

I guess I lie all the time to them just to cover up this one big lie that I feel really guilty about...

I've lied to them about having lots of friends because I don't want them to worry and I always have an excuse for getting out of the house.

I've lied to them about going places with those made-up friends tons of times, even though I have only like, two real friends (one is Theo—she forgave me by the way!—), and Pa hates them for one reason or another. Theo's the daughter of one of his biggest enemies, for one.

I've lied to them when I got caught wearing one of yours or Aunt Peggy's dresses, making up some lame excuse like, "I walked into the closet and it fell on me," which is actually not convincing at all. See, that's my problem here, but more on that in a bit.

I've lied to them about going out walking at night by myself, when I was really walking with one of my real friends. It was George, by the way.

I've lied to them about practicing putting on make-up so that one day when I go to prom I'll be the most beautiful boy there.

I've lied to them about being gay.

But all of this was to cover up the one big lie that you might've connected the dots to...

I really just don't want them to find out that I like George. Not even George knows that. But in order to keep this secret the most hush-hush I can, I have to not let our parents know that I'm even friends with him.

Pa hates George because he disliked everything on all his social media. Which is one post on Facebook that he just happened to dislike.

So... Pa can't find out. And neither can Dad, cuz he'll tell Pa. So I have to continue lying about these things.

But, the problem is, you see, I'm a really horribly unconvincing liar.

Every lie that is told seems small when it's said,
But remember those liars,
Most ended up dead.
When all of those thoughts
Sit there stuck in your brain,
You may start to wonder if you're truly still sane.

What would you do if you were trapped in a lie?
Would you stand up for your tale?
Would you fall down and cry?
Or would you tell them the truth,
Although it would hurt?
At least you'd be free, for all that it's worth.

Fretfully,
A Fearful, Frightened Phony Philip