A Poem for National Poetry Day 2019

It's National Poetry Day today and the theme is truth, which seems a timely choice to me, given that the sort of lying and gaslighting that often characterises abusive domestic relationships is now being demonstrated by heads of state on both sides of the Atlantic.  

Here's a poem about the sometimes elusive nature of truth from my 2016 collection, Breadcrumbs. 

Variations on the Theme of Truth

I am fluent

in thirteen languages

each one a lie

You force me to lie

by not making it easy

to tell the truth

My lies

are the questions

you don’t ask

I tell you

what you want to hear

I kill you with kindness

Nobody lies

more than you do

to yourself 

My lies are truth, my truth

the only thing that matters

is that you believe me

Truth is, I never lie

I’d say I’m sorry

but I’m not