It's in the silences between your words,
continually niggles at the back of your mind.
It's between your eyes and what you see,
between your self-image and who you are.
Sometimes you inadvertently stumble upon it
in the Tarot cards or a therapist's notes
on a stranger you've never known,
yet who seems strangely familiar.
You tell yourself you're blissfully happy,
while crying yourself to sleep.
This Land of Lies is where we live now
behind our black-out truth shades,
hearing a different version of events
with each news channel.
A girl is talking non-stop about her achievements:
a catalogue of qualifications, the places she's been.
Her audience is agog with admiration.
But the truth is there in her eyes...
they tell a different story, a sad one,
that we've lost the ability to read.
continually niggles at the back of your mind.
It's between your eyes and what you see,
between your self-image and who you are.
Sometimes you inadvertently stumble upon it
in the Tarot cards or a therapist's notes
on a stranger you've never known,
yet who seems strangely familiar.
You tell yourself you're blissfully happy,
while crying yourself to sleep.
This Land of Lies is where we live now
behind our black-out truth shades,
hearing a different version of events
with each news channel.
A girl is talking non-stop about her achievements:
a catalogue of qualifications, the places she's been.
Her audience is agog with admiration.
But the truth is there in her eyes...
they tell a different story, a sad one,
that we've lost the ability to read.
Sometimes we really do lie to our self...not intentionally though. I think it can sometimes be a self-preservation thing. If we do not show our pain to others, we don't have to confront it ourselves. What we fail to realize though is that it NEEDS to be confronted...
ReplyDeleteI think you're absolutely right, Keith...it is a self-preservation thing.
DeleteI often catch myself "bending the truth" when I want to avoid something I find painful...but the truth does always catch up with me in the end...so it is quite futile trying to avoid it in the first place!
Human nature eh? *chuckles*
I left a comment maybe Google didn't like it, see I understand, and agree. Because i can't lie, i don't talk. I rarely go out, because i can't lie, but I can smile, and that's what allows me to go out, I can smile. always understood you xoxoxo be well
DeleteI keep having that same problem on your art blog...it tells me the page I requested does not exist...what IS going on??:/
DeleteI definitely do lie to myself...I catch myself doing it often...when I don't want to feel something, I bury my head in the sand and pretend I never felt it...never works though...;)
Big Hugs xxx
mmm so true...the trying to keep up impressions...i wonder why we have such a hard time being real...imagine the relationships if we were all just real...how much healthier we would be...
ReplyDelete...and so much easier to know who we are getting hitched up with, eh? ;)
DeleteMaybe we are afraid of not living up to others' expectations of us.
Hmm...definitely a dangerous habit to fall into...
Many thanks, Brian :)
I float through these words as they soak in, pretending each point is for someone else. And then the word connect and the black out shades don’t work.. the understanding here of truth is humbling.. Wonderful..
ReplyDeleteOh wow...thank you so much, Anthony.
DeleteI so appreciate your encouraging words...as I wrote this, I saw my own lies rear up like demons before my eyes, and I realised then that it was myself I was writing about!
You have my word...painful or not...I shall lie no more...lol
What I love about this poem is the implicit message in it. The last couple of stanzas about the girl are quite powerful. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from London.
Thank you so much CiL...your kind words mean a great deal to me.
DeleteHappy Sunday :)
Aah if only one could see the truth behind her eyes!
ReplyDeleteYes...it really would make life a lot easier, wouldn't it?
DeleteMany thanks, Midnight...
Big Hugs xxx
When one can lie to themselves it becomes easier to lie to others.
ReplyDeleteDeep and sadly very true, Ygraine. Wonderful writing~
Hugs
xoxoxo
That is so true, Jan...we know that, so why do we do it?
DeleteSelf-preservation, I suppose...yet all it ultimately leads to is humiliation and embarrassment!
Thank you so much.
Hugs xxx
I was told once that because i refuse to lie I attracted liars??? what kind of nonsense is that
ReplyDeletePerhaps they need to attract truth into their lives?!
DeleteI agree...utter nonsense.
They would quickly be found out...:/
Big Hugs xxx
This is a very powerful read and so true!
ReplyDeleteFor myself, I find it so hard to lie! And, when I have found out, that a person has lied to me, I get shivers up my spine. The trust has been broken!
Big Hugs and thanks for your kind comments on my blog ;o)
Sorry for being late coming around!
No need to apologise, Stacy...it is always a real pleasure to hear from you, whether early or late! :)
ReplyDeleteYes...lying is a strange thing. I lie so easily to myself...yet would never dream of lying to anyone else. A rather cowardly trait I think! ;)
Thank you so much!
Hugs xxx
A very thought provoking write! Most liars don't have a good memory :) which is a good thing as they always get caught out.
ReplyDeleteThat is so true, Rose...I know I have always been caught out - even if they were just tiny white ones! lol
DeleteMany thanks dear friend xxx