What You Give to Strangers

I think it's funny
That he gets the good you

The you on vacations
The you in-depth
The you that shows something more
Than the surface section
Of yourself

I think it's funny
Really, I do
That he gets that much more
Of you

I think it's interesting
What you give to strangers
And what you give to friends

Presents and packages
Long histories of yourself
And your dreams


Your honest appraisals
Of your missed opportunities
And your summaries of us
Your friends


Louder laughter than the ones for our jokes
Harder tears than the ones you let us see
Better attention than the kind we're given


And if a stranger sins
Then they're forgiven
Because you don't expect much
From them

You give them your body instantly
Probably excited
By all the things you don't know

With me, you know my territory
You know too much
And the more you know
The uglier my scars seem

I start to look like the trunk of a tree
Lines running up and down on me

You give them your secrets
After two weeks of personality gorging
And two months from now
When the shine goes down
You'll find a flaw that won't go away
One you didn't notice those first few blissful days

But by then
You'll have already
Given it all away
And it's amazing

What you give to strangers
And what you give to friends

Maybe it's the only way for you
To take it out of yourself
And place it on somebody else

When really it's just disposal
Not communication
Not relations
Not anything but a different sort of trashcan

Maybe that's why you set it on them
Knowing they won't stay

Maybe you figure it's safer
To take what you have
And throw it away