Thursday, October 8, 2020

Truth



image from timelife.com

Truth


“I am ignorant of absolute truth, but I remain’

humble before my ignorance.--Kahlil Gibran.


Truth is beauty, and it is a rare commodity.


Truth is stranger than fiction. George Orwell and 

Philip K. Dick, teaming up with Sartre and Kafka

could not ever have dreamed up the Trump era.


Truth is the Republican game has been rigged from

the start, a gordian knot on the neck of the Republic.


Truth is treason midst an empire of lies, an antiseptic

muckraker, forced to be twisted, crippled, disregarded,

trampled or destroyed by the lovers of lies.


Truth, like love, hurts those politicians, wife batterers and

con men who are on the rise.


Truth be told, we are less than a month away from the

great blue awakening, the rebirth of democracy.


Truth is relative, secondary to the perceptual filters of

others, and therefore suspect. MAGA and Proud Boy

truth is as dark as charred meat left too long on a spit.


Truth is it is impossible to cover, to fully define all there

is to say about truth.


Truth is the best of my friends, and I am ashamed of

how often I betray it.


Aristotle said that if we believe, or say something is

true, then it must correspond to the way things actually 

are--to the facts.


Yes, truth is hard, but it is worth the effort. It should not

be malleable or other-directed.


Truth does have a voice, but it cannot report itself.


Truth is essential to a well-rounded world view.


Nietzsche said ”Truth is terrible”, because existentially we

must face the inevitability of death, that life is 

mostly amoral, and too often what we think we 

understand about the world is illusory


Truth is stealth in a Fascist Netherland of blur

over a lascivious landscape of lies.



Glenn Buttkus


Posted over at d'Verse Poet's Pub MTB

14 comments:

brudberg said...

Yes truth is hard, and a lie is a drug, that once injected will always have our veins aching for more. I fear that there are way too many people that will not accept a defeat... The right to bear arms is a scary thought and will be used I fear.

JadeLi said...

Even though impossible to cover everything to do with truth in one poem, you have done a first-rate job here with yours. It's an ideal those with integrity strive for and those without disdain. My absentee ballot has been turned in, my Biden and local election signs are in the yard, and I'm confident dirtball will be thrown out on his keester (if he survives the virus.)

calmkate said...

resonates beautifully with my post of "accurate" you describe it so well relating it to your current turmoil ... that last sentence is super powerful!

Sanaa Rizvi said...

"Truth be told, we are less than a month away from the great blue awakening, the rebirth of democracy." Amen! This is such a breathtakingly powerful poem, Glenn. I also hope that November will bring change. 💝

Dwight L. Roth said...

Truth is both a joy and pleasure ... but also a hard pill to swallow at times. Very gooe analysis of Truth.
I liked this line...

Truth is the best of my friends, and I am ashamed of

how often I betray it.

Kim M. Russell said...

You went all out with the truth, Glenn, it’s what we all want to hear for a change as it is indeed ‘a rare commodity’ these days. These lines are so true:

‘Truth, like love, hurts those politicians, wife batterers and
con men who are on the rise’
and
‘…truth is hard, but it is worth the effort. It should not
be malleable or other-directed’.

Ken Gierke said...

Truth may have a voice, but it doesn't come from this White House.

robkistner said...

Glenn my friend. I can always count on you writing something strong, something I like to read. I’m a day late getting around to read anyone. This prompt was confusing to me but I finally hammered through something. Ironically the piece I wrote in two parts both deal with truth. Great minds I guess. Good work brother were written.

Kerfe said...

Truth is the best of my friends, and I am ashamed of how often I betray it.--one must be able to feel shame to recognize the truth I think. Lots of good thoughts here.

A Reading Writer said...

Dang. Your poems always pack a punch. These lines are pure genius:
George Orwell and

Philip K. Dick, teaming up with Sartre and Kafka

could not ever have dreamed up the Trump era.

Anthony Borderlines said...

As worried I am of the situation and Trump, I see the two-party system a scam of status quo, but for my sanity I try to keep USA politics on half-mute and so got an averse reaction and could not read your no doubt masterful take on the issue with amazing poem. Sorry.
But it's just crimes, police state stuff, killings, 23f?cking million veterans and I don't see USA as a developed country, rather a degrading one.
My hope is that this breaking of truth leads to some kind of breaking of the old paradigm and somehow awaken people to the fact that now is time to "Not with mouth, but action.", to quote our eras great oratotang DJ Trump.
Of course your poem is action, but I can't understand why are not all the sane people out there protesting too!
USA doesn't seem like a free country, but rather one in the corporations leash, when it should be vice versa...

Anthony Borderlines said...

I will read it, but not while drinking morning coffee!

Helen said...

Truth is ..... this is a great take on the challenge.

lillianthehomepoet.wordpress.com said...

A wonderful word to explore!

"Truth be told, we are less than a month away from the
great blue awakening, the rebirth of democracy." OMG I HOPE SO!

Loved the meatloaf reference. Interesting isn't it.....truth when connected to science can be quite different from truth when connected to perception. And then there's always those nasty alternate facts!
I'm with you every step of the way on this post, Glenn!