We lie. Othello lied, Clinton and Nixon, Jay Gatsby and King David, too, the results often as consequential as today’s climate change. Babies fake-cry, and children blame other children when they get into trouble. We cheat on our spouses, we concoct elaborate hoaxes, we build fat Ponzi schemes, sending investors to financial doom. We tell bold-faced untruths with straight faces, using words as smooth as an Oreo’s fondant. We cover up, put on facades, pretend to be what we are not. Like the Greeks tricking the Trojans with the wooden horse. Like Judas betraying his master with a kiss. Like you feigning courage as you hug family goodbye for an uncertain season of sickness. Published: Verse-Virtual, 2023
