little children play pretend
let's pretend we're mermaids in the pool
let's pretend we're grown ups
dress up in mom's old clothes
now i pretend to care how i look
pretend to listen
pretending for those around me
pretending so that people won't ask questions
so that they won't have to deal with my problems
i'm protecting them
protecting them from being burdened by me
burdened by my problems
burdened by my pain
because even if they knew,
it wouldn't change how i feel
it wouldn't undo the damage
so come play pretend with me
today, let's pretend we're happy