Ode to Truth

What is truth?

 

That evasive chimera

Tormentor of thinkers

Hunter of the guilty

Aim of the honest

Leader of the lost

 

We may search for it

Prize it above all else

But we seek an illusion

For the harder we look

The more faint it grows

And as we grasp it firmly

It alters depth and form

A hologram of the soul

 

We may seek to evade it

Twist it to our own ends

But we can never escape it

For it is with us and within

The awe of it never leaves us

And the further from it we stray

The more we fear the certainty

That there is only truth at the end

 

We may say we live by it

Make it our highest praise

But we worship a false idol

For truth is not as a rock

The fickle heart of the man

Makes the nature of the truth

And between truth and lie

There is but a point of view

 

We may use it to aid us

To justify and to guide us

But we follow an unlit lamp

For it is dark behind our eyes

The cradle of truth lies there

Not showing us the way

But streaming out behind us

A comet trail of the mind

 

How, then, shall we decide?

How can we do what is right?

How can we know ourselves?

How may we say we are honest?

 

It seems we can know only this:

That one day we will face the truth

When nothing more can be hidden

And no more lies can be told

And then we will finally know

Whether we are honest or not

And it may be that real truth

Is only what we believe in our hearts

And we can only say we are honest

If we are true to ourselves

 

For that is the nature of truth. 

Reviews

[ice]

"We may say we live by it
Make it our highest praise
But we worship a false idol
For truth is not as a rock
The fickle heart of the man
Makes the nature of the truth
And between truth and lie
There is but a point of view"

To me, the most profound stanza in the poem..it could stand by itself as a short poem.

There is so much truth in this poem, that in confounds me..

I thought I knew the truth once
I was about fifteen, and knew everything.
Then I started working with poor blacks, and migrants
And found their truths were different than mine.

This poem, in its refreshing wisdom
Reminded me of that time in my life.
Also reminded me of how false those feelings
of knowing it all really were.

The poem was done with care, and thought
Just as a poem of this topic should be.
I enjoyed reading it.

[Sethnicity]

Well written! Solid piece.
my favorite part of a piece is the question.
Keep asking questions... it's the only way to find answers.

[Ed Hart]

i think you pinned the tail on the donkey with this one

[Laughing-Bear]

When I read your poem I had to ponder it over several hours. I even looked up the word truth.
truth |troōθ|
noun ( pl. truths |troōðz; troōθs|)
the quality or state of being true. (also the truth) that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality.
It seems to my way of thinking after digesting your read that truth in many ways is subjective, unnerving to my way of thinking. Or is it always in flux? I guess I will know only when I walk to the Great Mystery through the passageway of death. But just maybe if I have stuck to what I believe to be a universal truth that I should be kind, caring, and loving towards my fellow man I will at least be able to meet Truth with straight eyes.
I with your permission would like to file this poem away, may I?

Blessings, Laughing-Bear

Also as I live primitive in the Bush I do not have regular access to the net, I was near an Internet sight and logging in downloaded your poem to my tabletop so I could read it at home by the fire when I had time. Is this all right to do this with your poems as I always delete such writings and only keep them on file with the author’s permission?

[MandaBear]

Thanks for sharing it with us. Great poem

[Antonio Valentino]

Whew, pretty amazing.

Some very quality writing, glad I got to read this.

Thanks for sharing it with us.

[Ruth]

So so true love! You have taken a topic and made it blister! WOW! I am in awe :) Please forgive my abscence in commenting btw, had so much to do of late!
This is amazing work, everything is full circle within your work....you take all elements, disparate or not and fuse them together, a metaphorical jugsaw, so to speak lol
Truth? So true we have to be true to ourselves!
Great poem
100 from me!
xx

[Chloe..Across the Unive..]

Wonderful writing .. it is true all you have written .. and the truth shall set you free.

[Karina Longo]

Mind-blowing. Not to mention I love the theme of choice. Very well-written - powerful indeed.

[Poeticadia]

An excellent and well-structured contemplation of truth. I particulary liked these lines:

"But we follow an unlit lamp
For it is dark behind our eyes"

...we all start out from the darkness.

"And it may be that real truth
Is only what we believe in our hearts
And we can only say we are honest
If we are true to ourselves"

...something every poet must believe in to write well!