Social Understatement

Write the answer on the board.
Share only your shallow thoughts.
Live a little when you get bored, 
but try not to get caught.

Keep talk small to keep a friend.
Focus on what you’re doing right.
See how far your truth can bend.
Don’t mention what you think at night.

We’ve all labeled you a hopeless case,
but if you come up with a joke,
we might put on a friendly face
and share our can of Coke.

We’ll invite you to our tailgate.
You’ll get lost in the crowd.
You’ll scream about the life you hate, 
but the party will be too loud.

We’ll update your script for you.
You can write cheat notes on your wrist.
We’ll show you how you can be you.
We’ll make a little list.

If you decide our way is not okay,
you think you might know better,
Move your heart a million miles away
and tell us in a letter.

One day it will be published and on our shelves.
We’ll praise your notoriety.
One story of one person finding himself
against the pressures of society.

We’ll watch it in a movie with an all-star cast.
We’ll even shed a tear.
We’ll reflect upon our own pasts.
It will all be clear.

Then we’ll sleep in the same positions.
The remorse won’t make it past our dreams.
We’ll continue pursuing our ambitions,
with no change in self-esteem.

Author's Note

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