"The only thing worse than a liar is a liar that's also a hypocrite!" ~ Tennessee Williams
My what a lovely presentation ~
colourful welcoming smiles and delights.
You are a beautiful piñata,
a party on the outside,
chock full of surprises inside.
An alluring shell so inviting.
Don’t crack it open you’ll be alright.
Contents are anything but pretty.
I was happy living with the illusion
but now that I know what’s inside
I find the exterior not so appealing.
I can’t unknow what I now know.
Nonetheless let the party continue.
Let the piñata sway in the sun,
no way I want to burst that open.
Still it brings me reminiscings of happiness
to see the beauty that once was.
Lineku: 3 stanzas of 5-7-5 lines of 5 or 7 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
I still remember the day
You promised you'd stay.
Thought, not even in my dreams
How swiftly you could slip away!
Fights were meant to happer
But wasn't love to abandon.
Had you known the consequence
Our future would be to our convenience.
Whom should I blame
For my efforts are in vain?
In the throes of love I was
So naive to fathom your game!
Look what you brought in
An inextricable chaos my life’s been
How could you deceive without a clue?
Mind, your comeuppance is overdue
I will thrive anyhow
You reap what you sow.
Certainly you will not pass
Cause Karma keeps records.
Look again, my dear
things are not as they appear
while words deceive
they slither and they weave
your eyes can also lie
lead you astray with just a sigh
Look deep beyond the surface, dear
and trust not everything you hear
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
I sink deep into the unhappiness of being the one who doesn't deceive you with sweet illusions,
I refuse to change who I am for anyone, even for the shadows that surround me.
I've detested how easily you allow yourself to be manipulated to accept everything you hear without question,
Have I not left a strong enough impression, or are you so easily deceived?
I've dug deep into the lies told, like hot tea that never cools,
I know myself, and that's what matters; it's a truth I carry within my soul.
I don't explain myself, because if you are the one meant for me, you would know me from my sigh and my gaze,
Was I wrong about you, or were you the one who was mistaken about me?
It's a dance between truth and illusions, a search for meaning in eyes that refuse to see,
I remain true to myself, navigating through the shadows of day and night, unwavering.
It happens to everyone/
All we want is a few/
To be called a true friend/
To show us that there's others out there/
Just like us, so we open ourselves/
To the job of finding true worthy people/
To surround ourselves with/
Only to be filled with lies and deceit/
Generation after generation/
Just keeps getting shadier/
To be blind and not see things/
So clearly, and fall for the same words/
Over and over again/
Just coming out of their mouths/
We try to be positive, shine like a star/
To attract everyone, to search and separate/
To find a few we are looking for/
Which turns into a life of struggles/
Either way we look/
We see doubt and second guessing/
Things we thought we fully understood/
To come and see the real light/
People come and go/
Some seem to use the friend word/
Easy enough, only to be proven wrong/
In the long and short run/
To be left alone/
Seeming like an.../
Outcast... Friendless/
My eyes deceive me,
Wondering, worrying
if I am free.
The current pulls me out
it's disorienting.
yet, you don’t see me pout.
Forty won’t come
But you promised.
so fragmented, so gruesome.
My eyes deceive me.
It's disorienting.
so fragmented, so gruesome.
So many years gone
Still I can't forget how
My heart believe you.
Away from alleys, muggers don sombreros.
So sharp, so twisting, they’re like arrows.
The target never narrows.
Sneaking, dancing through the night,
Arrows never cause a fright.
They steal every light.
Not one is safe; they’re everywhere.
Look around for their snare.
Don’t say your cross is too much to bear.
Are you too blind to see?
The answer is in front of me.
I will never be set free.
A teardrop of joy
a teardrop of sorrow
Different in substance
different in kind
Flowing endemic
the scientist’s baffled
Their chemical compounds
— distinct and profound
(Rosemont College: June, 2024)
Your ego will deceive you,
Integrity never will.
On Wealth
The wise man said to a poor peasant: I will make you wealthy.
Of the three riches I offer, what do you wish as wealth?
Gold and many servants
Wisdom and many followers
Integrity and many enemies
The peasant contemplated, then answered:
Integrity, with all wealth comes enemies.
With gold and servants, I will know my enemies when I become poor.
With wisdom and followers, I will know my enemies when I become feeble.
With integrity and enemies, I will know my enemies because I am honest.
- Roger White
Armed with the same knowledge
we’re still not conjoined
Intention the difference
no flip of the coin
Our substance a mirror
but essences framed
by choices defining
—the praise or the blame
(The New Room: November, 2023)
The Mockingbird sings out his misleading best,
in hopes to attract a dupe with a nest,
where the squatter believes mate’s eggs should belong;
so mimics and jabbers uncountable songs.
Catbirds and Thrashers, related critters,
both grey North Americans sport throats of a twitter.
These gifted Warblers mock tricky bird tunes,
deceiving, deluding as feathered dragoons.
In fairness to balance the Tweeters’ intent,
creating, demanding a need to invent
a song to attract a new or lost mate:
so, a beacon to follow and commitment to state.
EXAMPLE MOCK SONGS
whistling, hey-hey yip pittie-yap
frog gurgle, snarf-chickie claw-saw
peep peeping piccolo-staccato bleat
sniftering chit-chat, yodel-do do
snerling, rat trap, blah tat-tat-tat
crunchy nasal chirp, coo-coo-coo
Your glittering golden look is deceiving
looks like real gold fulcrum
it's attractive thing but it just glitters
I believed you
That you cared
But you didn't
All you wanted was my love
I was a fool
I believed your lies
That you could ever love me
And the worst part was, I loved you too
But all you did was hurt me
I came to you
For your wise words of help
But then you began
Questioning my love
You told me that I wasn't me
And that I needed help
You told me that I had to do whatever
To be my old normal happy self
But when I did what I had to
You told me you'd been betrayed
Now I question ever loving you
For your love, was just a pitiful game
Published by Family Friend Poems January 2012
When you talk to me
My ears acts like sieve
My eyes know it all
My face can't stop smirking
Cause even your lies
Can't deceive me this time
I might be innocent back then
Letting me dance on your fingertips
But trust me
I have become way smarter than I was
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