KATHLEEN PEABODY
Truth
Greed cannot overtake it.
Jealousy can’t change it.
We cannot lie our way out of it;
we can’t lie our way around it.
Lies do not outshine it.
Angry air punches do not reach it.
Violence distracts from it. Masks it. Cancels it.
Ignorance can only thirst for it.
Easily impressed wannabes in unconscious denial equate
wealth and wisdom.
Fear-filled bigotry assiduously tries to mask the truth,
and often succeeds. For a while.
While we endure the grip of charlatans who have
replaced leaders,
The while needs to be cut short.
Phony claims to hold dishonest power
occupy square footage and time in the light,
And at the microphone.
The while needs to be ended.
Hope can spread the truth, pessimism cedes that power.
Lost faith cannot embrace it, but
Truth shines through, always visible around the edges.
The truth was here before humans. It is the ancient
unchangeable law.
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Author’s Note: In the search for sustainable societal solutions amidst the schism between truth and lies, common ground doesn’t presently seem to exist. I wrote this as a course correction away from pessimism. This is dedicated to author Shawna Rodenberg’s Grandma Betty, who said, “The truth will stand when the world’s on fire.”
Resilience 