How Many Lies Do You Believe?

Bill M. Tracer on May 22, 2010

Here is the next in my ongoing series of poetic stream of consciousness writings, bringing together my abstract art with abstract words.

What is True?

What is false?

The distinction between them

Sometimes easily seen, sometimes not.

Lies take diverse forms, flavored by intention.

Selfish Lies benefit the liar.

Selfless Lies are for the other.

Offensive Lies insult more than persuade.

Defensive Lies the consequences evade.

Harmful Lies bring pain into our lives,

Harmless Lies painless, yet truth deprives.

Petty Lies filled with spite and confusion,

Noble Lies a laughable delusion.

Official Lies cloud the light of history,

Unofficial Lies no better a foray.

Government Lies undermine true ethics,

Anarchic Lies a deceiving tactic.

Organized Lies ordered well in a row,

Disorganized Lies where chaos will grow.

Intentional Lies willfully hinders the true

Accidental Lies victimize both me and you.

No mater the motive underlying the lie

In the wake of it’s telling the truth will die.

Try Truth.

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Comments (3)

Tina Cassello on May 22, 2010
I was glad to see your work again. The images are stunning and I liked what you had to say in your poem. Yes, we tend to feel that some lies are less damaging and may even be useful, but God does not see them that way. I lie is a lie, no matter how good we think our motives for telling them are, and there will always be a consequence that will be more detrimental than telling the truth would have been. We may not see the harm immediately, and may even see what we think was a good result, but it will magnify and manifest itself into something we had not expected and do not like eventually.
Jimmy Shilaho on May 22, 2010
Quite a style.
Bill M. Tracer on May 22, 2010
Thank you both, Tina, and Shilaho.

I discovered this morning that somehow the line breaks got lost in the translation from being submitted to being published. I submitted a fix, so now the line breaks are as they should be.

Hi there!