How To Lie About Reading A Book Poem by Bryan Corbett

you've got a friend that just insists
that you have to read this book
this new, best-selling, critic's choice,
soon-to-be-a-movie, debut by a
new phenom award-winning author
still in high school
no, you just HAVE to
stop what you're doing
right this minute
and read it!
you must!

but, you really have no interest in
eleventh century Chinese monarchies
and really? who does? right?

so, here's what you do
when you run into that friend
and they ask you about that goddamn book
again and again and again and again

when they ask if you read the book
say yes,
and that you thought it was incredible
and you couldn't put it down
and it was a real page-turner
and my gosh thank you so much
for recommending it to me and oh, my,
where are my manners?
I'm just rambling,
tell me what YOU
thought of the book.

because, my friend,
they really never cared
whether you bought that book, or not
whether you read that book, or not
and they damn sure didn't care
what you thought of that book
they just wanted to tell YOU
what they thought of it.

You're welcome.