Adam's journal
12/5/2059
8:15 p.m.

I learned to play the game
I learned to act as if nothing
Would ever change.
I learned to pretend I was okay.

I learned to walk the line
I learned to act as if I'd never lose
My balance.
I learned to pretend I was fine.

I learned to tell the lies
I learned to act as if the truth
Was more harmful to expose.
I learned to pretend I didn't want to die.

I learned to not get burned
I learned to act as if people could not
Reach me with their words and thoughts.
I learned to pretend I could never be hurt.

I learned not to let anyone in
I learned to act as though my heart
Was sealed, not broken.
I learned to pretend I was my only friend.

I learned that people leave
I learned to act as though I felt
No strings attached.
I learned to pretend they meant nothing to me.

I learned to drown out the world
I learned to act as if the only voice
Was my own.
I learned to pretend I was deaf and alone.

I learned to alter my dreams
I learned to act as if
It was coincidence.
I learned to pretend fiction was reality.

Because
I learned.

I learned to play the game
I learned to act as if nothing
Would ever change.
I learned to pretend I was okay.