Twisting Truth Poem by Tony Cemaluk

They never told a lie,
They twisted truth until it limped like a lean limb.

A half truth here,
A vanished name there,
A deliberate silence where thunder should have been,
An emotive sob muttered where inevitable truth should have formed the foundation.

Truth did not shatter like glass in their hands,
It bent like wire,
Until the straight was made crooked,
And the crooked was crowned as wisdom.

They twist to please the crowd,
They twist to preserve face,
But a twisted truth is still a lie that learned to smile.

For to build a polished lie from an actual event,
You must steal at least five percent of truth as foundation.
And that five percent is enough -
For an unbiased judge to vindicate.

For the remnant truth remains,
And it triumphs over perfect lies built on twisted truth.