The Turquoise-Haired Fairy lied:
She told Pinocchio he could be a real boy
If only he stopped lying,
As if boyhood was based on truth.
I learned as a boy that
Boyhood was based on lies,
And lies upon those lies,
With the biggest lie of all being
That I could ever be a real boy.
Like poor little Pinocchio,
I so wanted to be a real boy
That I missed the point:
I never really wanted to be a boy to begin with.
What I wanted was not to be broken.
Not to be mocked.
Not to be cast aside
Like an unloved marionette.
I wanted to be me.
And I think Pinocchio
Would have been much happier
If he’d been allowed
To just be him.
— Clio 04.19.21
