I've seen a ship in a bottle
and a barque inside a jar
how they got there I've no idea
perhaps a retractable spar
mariners made them
when all at sea
or in the doldrums
averting voyage-long ennui
what it signifies I know not
but there's a punt
in the bottom of mine
maybe an impediment
to catch sediment
when storing
or accommodate
a thumb for pouring
yet it does not improve the wine
Why we
only needed
tomorrow
and god gave
us an eternity
wondrous gifts
we shall always
adorn the simple
rhythm of life just
a heart beat away
Ivy leaguers smell like turd bits
Near the king’s commode where he s*its
Don should flush elites
Like what he excretes
Including these ass wipes and twits:
Yale University…J.D. Vance
Yale University…Scott Bessent
Yale University…Daniel Driscoll
Harvard University…Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Harvard University…John Phelan
Harvard University…Dean John Sauer
Princeton and Harvard…Pete Hegseth
University of Pennsylvania...Tiffany Trump
University of Pennsylvania...Donald Trump Jr.
University of Pennsylvania...Ivanka Trump
University of Pennsylvania…Elon Musk
University of Pennsylvania…D.J. Trump
University of Pennsylvania and Harvard…Mehmet Oz
I noted the stillness
in your hands, the
casual arc of your shoulders,
a deceitful ease in your voice—
as if the world melted into your anima,
your eyes spoke the nether language
(angelicus anima).
I watched your eyes oscillate,
a tidal wave of light,
gleams of individuation
propagating outward,
devastating all disguises—
quiet fissures in the
careful strata
of us.
Truth stays
naïve
As reality
profanes
The price of
fidelity
Unpaid
till inflamed
Truth often
hides
With its head
in the sand
Until forced
into play
A new crisis
— at hand
(The New Room: August, 2024)
by Max Burchett
Hard to know
What is real now.
Who to believe,
Who will deceive.
This is truth
As I know it,
Yet I never say, my truth,
Since surely truth is absolute.
I will say to you.
I believed some lies.
Got pulled in, it’s true.
Could have been my demise.
But I saw the light from a song,
For now through a glass darkly.
Now as I go along,
All said is seen more clearly.
Strange man with the sign
Saying, the end is near,
Maybe not for the world he means,
But for each and everyone.
That I suppose sadly is true.
Photography by Tayeb MEZAHDIA
In joint veritas
They said
I’m so agreed
Because why not
I mean
The way
It sounds to me
Or maybe just
because I’m high
26 December 2023
"my trinity" OR "in vino veritas"
the deVine
the grape
and
the holy spirits
Nothing more powerful
than speaking the truth
Pangs of deception
beguile uncouth
Spoken immortal
knighted profound
Today and tomorrow
—veracity crowned
(Dreamsleep: July, 2023)
When an honest man says nothing
—you forever hear his heart
(Dreamsleep: July, 2023)
A mystical illusion
Filled the gaps of time
Transported Innocent Angela to the land where truth resides
Surely a land where fears come to life
Soon the mystery unveils
Melody of a lost piano prevails
Shallow voices against the tainted plane
“Mystery and Fame once relayed ” it claimed
Far beneath the meadows
Within the garden of brass
Lied little Cinderella with her broken shoes of glass
Longing to go from rags to class
Vincit Omnia Veritas L
(Truth conquers all things)
Tom Wright
8/7/2000
From Mom,
I became educated at an early age,
that the axe of truth oft times cut deep.
That chips would fly and scatter where they will,
always affecting others.
That the ultimate payment for every act,
good or bad, would always be consequences.
Better to endure these, whatever they be, for a short time,
than surrender the advantages found in truth forever.
Mom called it being responsible!
I call it being loved!
All of which we fictionalize,
Hold far more truth, than we realize.
Millions of words
are brought to a boil
But only the few
—can rise with the truth
(Dreamsleep: June, 2022)
Our history has known too many wars by far,
Not one’s gone to oblivion without a scar.
In a war - other truth, contrived by a wrong man,
Where in fact there is, clear as crystal, only one.
The culprit is the power, held in evil hands,
Obscured by the entitlement to foreign lands.
Convenient truth then plays in to justify,
False cause, offering no comfort to those who die.
Among all casualties of war the first to go
The one and only truth the history will know.
The only pure and pristine truth worth fighting for -
All means and measures taken to avert a war.
March 7, 2022
Sponsor: Sotto Poet
Contest: Is Truth The First Casualty Of War And Why Is it?
12 syllables per line
Sub Categories
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.