'The Barber'

His advice was out
of the ordinary;
He told me to fib.
He told me that it
was the only way
to defend us against
the mundane,
to prevent
it from eating
us alive.
I remember it well.
He said,
"nurture that lump
in your throat
for as long as you can,
and if the truth
is ever unveiled,
why at least
you'll have a good
story to tell."
But he was a liar, and
when I looked
up at him,
with my big bug eyes,
he cried,
he held me and he made me
promise to never take any baloney
from anyone again.

e.c