Easy Liar
—for S. B., swooning as Auden sings:
“O stand, stand at the window
As the tears scald and start;
You shall love your crooked neighbour
With your crooked heart.”
—from Plato: “False words are not only evil in themselves,
but they infect the soul with evil.”
—from Mark Twain: “A lie can travel halfway around the world
while the truth is putting on its shoes.”
The nose grows longer as each lie grows
Easier to tell:
She swears through straight, but yellowing teeth,
“I can’t recall that.”
Of course, if she can’t re-call it,
She never called it at all. She can’t remember
A thing about all those cheap shots she took
At you when you were kids. She can’t remember
Calling you a bimbo and then insinuating you
Might have aids. Or telling a dying aunt that you
Were dying of bulimia. No, she will never remember
Her bald-face brazen lies!
Bait and switch:
“I was not referring to myself
But to society in general. Personally,
I find nothing wrong with her marrying
Another woman. Maybe a little creepy,
But nothing wrong, nothing at all!”
All the while claiming to possess an open mind
And soft heart for all humankind, regardless
Of how different “they” are from “us.”
Flame-throw and run away:
He’s taking an overload this semester,
He’s working 36 hours at the Student Union,
He’s taking his sister to ballet,
And his mom to cardiac therapy—
But only after he’s deep in deficit
Of making the case to support
His latest whopper—leaving you
Wondering why/how the conversation
Went on as long as it did.
Break it off, break off Pinocchio’s nose,
And close the gates of your attention.
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