The Tangled Web
The Tangled Web
Lines on her face grew deeper when fabrications were conceived
When further contradictions came, she knew not what to believe
Caught in a lie I’d be sent to my room; there’d be no reprieve
Mom said, "A tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive”
My boyfriend had no license yet; we wanted to double date
To get my mom’s permission, a lie I had to perpetrate
Claimed the driver was my boyfriend’s brother to mom’s fears abate
This was the first strand in a tangled web I chose to create
When the invitation to his wedding came, mom was irate
The “driver” had another last name, more lies I did inflate
“They have the same mom, just different dads,” but this did not equate
She’d met his Catholic parents; divorce was against our mandate
“His older brother’s father died.” This made my mom a skeptic
I wish mom would have washed my mouth out with an antiseptic
For now the web that hovered above had grown so very thick
Mom was on to me for sure, so she devised a clever trick
At mass my mom asked his where her first husband had been buried
How quickly she responded, “I’ve never before been married.”
For two years these lies had grown, and so much guilt I had carried
This snowball led me to declare I’d never again mislead
Though the truth may bring results that are unsatisfactory
You won’t be covered by webs built of story upon story
And when the truth prevails, you won’t see eyes accusatory
Or spend your teen years in a room filled with falsehoods’ armory
*True story for Paula’s “My Parent” contest
Copyright © Carolyn Devonshire | Year Posted 2011
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