What I Said Afterward By Elizabeth Macklin

Used to be I could lie like crazy--lie

to you, to “save my life,” lie

to be “pretty”--and not know it.

Leaves underneath were green

with light in moments of--

call it horror. A dahlia might

spread creased magenta petals--

intricate, showy--when the time came

to be lonely. Used to be

I could hold off--wait--wait

to tell the truth. Now there isn’t any.

From “You’ve Just Been Told” by Elizabeth Macklin (W.W. Norton: 96 pp ., $22)