Little White Lie
I will tell you a lie, to be kind —
which, if you guess, being smart,
you will kindly pretend to believe.
Our smiles will mask the inner
knowledge of truth, of difference,
while small, slimy questions begin.
Worms that travel in layers of dirt
below the sunlit surface of the mind.
Of both our minds, yours and mine.
What else is untrue? What else unsaid?
What do we risk unearthing if we dig?
Are there horrors, corpses, buried deep?
And so we start to make a little distance.
Nothing serious, of course. Intimacy
may require truth; we prefer comfort.
may require truth; we prefer comfort.
Strange how the inner unease, the need
to keep the (slight, thin) mask in place,
undermines comfort; the mask thickens.
************
What is the cost of a lie? That depends
on who you’re lying to. Best not do it
to someone you love, even to be kind.
to someone you love, even to be kind.
And best not lie to yourself. Otherwise
you risk forgetting who you really are
as the lie takes hold, assumes life.
This is incredibly deep and profound, Rosemary!💘 I especially like; "Strange how the inner unease, the need to keep the (slight, thin) mask in place." If only people realized that masks aren't worth wearing.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteWell, not the metaphorical ones, certainly – but I'll be masking up against the virus if I go out!
The first-person direct address engages the reader into thinking you are sharing a secret, a little white lie in itself, Rosemary, and there is duplicity in ‘you will kindly pretend to believe’. I like the ‘small, slimy questions’,
ReplyDelete‘Worms that travel in layers of dirt
below the sunlit surface of the mind’.
The deeper into the poem you lead your reader, the darker it gets, with the risk of unearthing ‘horrors, corpses, buried deep’.
The final lines about lies are so true!
Thanks, Kim, for this appreciative comment. I think that an apparently harmless lie can indeed lead one gradually deeper into darkness. Yet we all do it, don't we?
DeleteWOW, Rosemary, you went deep into our psyches and did some serious digging. Stuff for thought. It made me wish to be part of a discussion group centered on this topic.
ReplyDeleteOoh, that might be an uncomfortable discussion!
DeleteDamn this is good! My favorite bit is "Intimacy/ may require truth; we prefer comfort." That one hits like a gut punch. I think a lot of people tell themselves they're OK with play-acting at intimacy because sometimes being real (and accepting other's real) is just too much.
ReplyDeleteYes ... and I think we all do it some of the time. But hopefully catch and correct ourselves often enough.
DeleteProfound. I especially luv the epilogue for its caution
ReplyDeleteHappy Wednesday Rosemary
Much💚love
Thank you for saying that. I was uncertain about including that, as the poem could have stopped at the previous verse. I'm very glad it was the thing that most hit home for you. Now I definitely know it must stay. (Smile.)
DeleteYes, it is very dangerous to lie to yourself.
ReplyDeleteAnd we have so many ways of doing it!
DeleteYes, once a lie, a little lie is given freedom it can be the the root of much bigger. Love it is written in first person. "Strange how the inner unease, the need to keep the (slight, thin) mask in place,
ReplyDeleteundermines comfort; the mask thickens." Goodness that is powerful.
As I wrote, these things seemed to become obvious.
DeleteOh, Yowza!! Too good for any praise I might muster, especially those closing tercets. This ROCKS!
ReplyDeleteRon., your enthusiasm is always so affirming and heartening. Thank you!
Delete"lie to yourself....you risk forgetting who you really are" we see a lot lately. If they tell often enough they too begin to believe them and wish strongly for them to come true.
ReplyDeleteOne of my MIL's favorite lecture was about the need to cover one lie with one or more other lies.
..
Yes, it snowballs.
DeleteLying to other is unacceptable (even fibs) but when you lie to yourself you are lost as truth is not important to you anymore.
ReplyDeleteOne wonders what has become more important. There must be some kind of fear involved, I suppose.
Deletei love the two last stanzas. those are valuable lessons. great read indeed.
ReplyDeleteAnd here we go down the rabbit hole ... white lies are ubiquitous and dangerous.
ReplyDelete"And so we start to make a little distance.
ReplyDeleteNothing serious, of course. Intimacy
may require truth; we prefer comfort."
This is a profound statement, Rosemary. I am still thinking about it.