Knowing The Ways Of The World, My Art Poem by Dennis Ryan

February 7,2005; Saturday morning, Sept.17,2022
at 8: 30 a.m.

'The first casualty of war is the truth.'
- a war reporter's observation

Knowing the ways of the world, my art,
I want you to know that after I'm gone,
and maybe before, others will smear me,
blame and blacken my name based
upon their own fears and hidden agendas.
But know this: I have a heart that's wide open,
and, in sum, my heart produces my art.
Consult my true friends on this if you can
find them. From false friends, like Karen,
you get only false reports disguised as truths.