The universal lie is
that I never lie.
Always untrue.
We all lie.
We all do.
There are but two reasons why.
Knowing that is seeing true.
Knowing that may save you.
The first lie
may save your injury,
comfort your suffering,
grant you your freedom,
shelter and protect,
uplift and encourage,
open you to love.
The first lie is the oil over
troubled waters,
is the hidden key
to new discovery,
is the extra note to more harmony.
The first lie brings peace.
The first lie helps us see
we are part of loving community.
The second lie
causes injury,
increases suffering,
denies our freedom,
makes us feel unsafe.
Discourages our history
Berates new ideas,
closes us to love with hate.
The second lie is not
so noble as the first.
The first lie is for us.
The second lie is for the liar.
The first lie sets boundaries
to expand our sense
of love and creativity.
Its purpose is to protect.
The second lie has no “red lines”
it refuses to cross; but, only seeks
to sate the need of the second liar.
The second lie is for him, not us.
The second lie denies our right
to create connections and see the light
that fills all persons whose lives intersect.
It restricts any chance for us to connect.
The biggest liar of them all
is not the first, nor will be the last.
He is simply the liars’ poster boy.
And poster boys never last.
But the lies they tell persist
no matter how many resist
the pull of hate to the surface.
The greatest lie of all
is the one we tell ourselves
that we are somehow better,
somehow best.
We are liars, all.
If not we would have let him fall.
He would join other liars in jail.
Let up hope that soon
truth will finally prevail.
annarino writes 