How To Manage A Pretend Relationship


Be at cross-purposes, without admitting it.
Say “I love you” even at awkward moments.
Huddle together under a blanket at the beach
while watching the most beautiful sunset. 
Convince yourself that annoying habits
are really lovable eccentricities. 
Internalize your complaints so that
no one is the wiser, beyond the smiling. 
Imagine what life might be like together
five or ten years in the future.  
Perhaps get far too emotionally involved,
then regret your commitment.  
Share mix tapes and recipes, 
and let these stand as hard evidence
of how different you really are.
Go shopping together and 
get intimate in the dressing room.
Talk of meeting relatives
at the next major holiday.  
Visit college friends who
already are starting families. 
Drink a little too much
a little too often.
Hunger for the kind of trust
only seen in movies and books.
Lie to yourself that this
is the best it can get.
Cry only when alone.
Keep your dreams to yourself.