The Lie Poem by Laurence Overmire

began a long, long time ago
the unwillingness to see and speak
what is true

gradually

the lie became its own reality
and no one could tell the
difference

between what was
fabricated
and what was

genuine

people without integrity
without heart
without conscience

without soul

usurped the place of those
who had been growing
generation upon generation

following the light

the darkness surrounds us now
we endure, we wait
we persevere

hands clasped together
in hope

inwardly knowing that what is wrong
will be righted
for time, even at its most disjointed

is always

on the side of Truth.

~ Laurence Overmire

(Previously published in Terra Incongnita: Oregon Poets Write for Ecological, Social, Political and Economic Justice, Bob Hill Publishing, LLC,2019)