The Truth

Let’s face it... all of us are consummate liars.
Specialists, like ad men, CEOs, presidents
At knowing the lie that each moment requires
Adepts at fashioning proper euphemisms

Plausible alibis designed to separate
To insulate us from that which is salient
That which simply refuses, won’t accommodate
Be reconciled to, no matter how convenient

Conventional wisdom’s artful deceits: The Truth
That transcendent voice speaking in quiet moments
Of being connected, somehow related to
Each other, brothers and sisters, free of pretense

Sharing all our possessions, not pointing fingers
Prodding, inviting us to change, to grow, to love.
Sounds crazy, dangerous, doing that which hinders
Capital expansion, Wall Street, Gog and Magog

The stuff of nations, lines across deserts...
Give me a break! Better, give me a million bucks.
I will invent diversions, the necessary
Distractions, the all-consuming obsessions, but…

Don’t expect exuberance, the happy smile, faith.
I will affect a straight face at that which conspires
To make us soulless, brain dead, numb, insensate
I will become the perfect, consummate liar.