With disdain Dad would say,
“I wouldn’t give him the time of day.”
Want the time of day?
Some would never deign
to give it to you.
I’ll give you the time of day.
It is time to explain
that everyone lies.
They lie in bed and play
with lists of all they will do.
They start each day with lies
to themselves which eschew
their human frailties, and rise
to fail, but never admit
they are but lesser gods.
This is too much reality for some
whose narcissism trods
the boards in life’s grand play.
We ignore lies with civil display
of nods and winks and handshakes.
Even liars have money to spend.
We dare not let them get away
with dodging truth and yet we do.
Why pass up the chance
bleed them dry and get some dough?
Or the votes of those who believe
their lies, told so often truth all blends
into nonsense which makes us
jump on their bandstand
and play their false tune.
Everyone lies we tell ourselves.
So what? Just do not pay attention
and we will be fine.
Lies told often enough will
become the party line
and trap all who refuse
to admit the lie itself is the ruse.
The trick is not to believe the lie,
nor tune out from lies’ refrains
repeated on media outlets
until their bloodied stains
darken our ability to see
the truth which could
have set us free.
The trick is to stay tuned in
and search for facts
that disclose the sin.
Then ask for forgiveness
for the lies we told throughout the day.
So we can sleep the sleep of newborns,
awakened to a new world
where truth is explored
and lessons learned
that we may grow up in reality.
This is that time of day for me.
annarino writes 