Max Levine Ensemble Fake Smiles In Photographs
in the corner of a crowded room,
a girl smiles in a photograph.
it's meant to show some candid truth,
but taken for you.
in the quick but disconcerting flash:
a fake smile in a photograph
that once developed, it's a portrait, true...
of the elephant in the room.
camera one moves on to subject two.
trades the film off for a little cash.
he moves on to find some other truth
sold and packaged to you.
while in the corner of a crowded room
the band plays a familiar tune.
and the kids all thrash off time, its true.
as kids often do,
but there is something else in the room.
in a quick but disconcerting flash:
a fake smile in a photograph
held just until the moment passed.
the moment of truth.
and its buried somewhere in the back
of the weekly that you find yourself staring at,
you're enamored by her charm and class.
but you know: it was taken for you.
and that's the elephant in the room.
hang on for a second can we stop
and all observe what the record shows?
we could clearly see that boys ran the show.
these were words that came too slow,
and all those glossy photos
of the quote, unquote "kids in the pit"
they will serve as exhibit two.
could tell me where's the other half?
well that's the elephant in the room.
