a ghazal called lying, Andrea Liao You do it to make sure you’re awake

Leland Quarterly | Spring 2022

a ghazal called lying

Andrea Liao

let me lay the scene: it is summer in the city. we are lying under the shade of a thousand sins, the whole world lying

at our feet, when you tuck my hair behind my ear, tuck your hand in my back pocket & say the words i’ve been waiting for: i’d be lying

if i said i didn’t have feelings for you. now, all that’s left for me to do is say it back, but that would lead to lying

under you when that’s not what i want at all. still, i find myself saying i have feelings for you, too. that’s when you started lying

to me. i know you know i know what you did. while you were with me, you were also lying

with someone else, since i refused to lie with you. that august, you were spotted at santa cruz, lying

in the sand, your body flush against hers. why won’t you lie with me? i don’t feel like lying

when you ask, so i tell the truth: it’s none of your business. you say you know i never meant to hurt you, andrea. & i wonder: why are you always lying?

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