The Mask Of Knowing Poem by Vanessa Dizon Alvarez

I choose to play stupid,
a mask I let fall,
but trust me, I'm watching,
I'm hearing it all.

You whisper your secrets,
you think I'm naïve,
but I gather the shadows
of what you believe.

Every silence I carry,
every glance that you send,
I know what you're hiding,
I know where it bends.

So laugh at the surface,
pretend I'm not keen—
but I know everything
you thought I hadn't seen.