The Game

What is this game people play?

Like a child’s game of pretend.

Has everyone joined the fray?

Do all want to contend?

It’s “Hide and Seek”

But the finder loses.

Since to point out the truth,

It only confuses.

Trading social niceties,

Their smiles are liars.

They’re all too polite it seems,

To reveal what they desire.

“Don’t you know,

You shouldn’t say what you mean?

To play this game,

You have to scheme.”

But why? To what end?

These rules don’t make sense!

So I just stand there watching,

Scratching my head.

I prefer honesty to pleasantries,

Transparency to flattery.

So I’ll just stand on the sidelines,

And hope I’m not a rarity.