Swallow the Watered-down Lies

wrote in one sitting... just sat and wrote. wasnt even aware i was rhyming until the third stanza.

Swallow the Watered-down Lies

 

Beware those who breathe

For it is the living who tell the lies

The dead, mouths sewn closed

Just stare with sightless eyes.

 

The sign stared down at me

Surface flaking, forgotten on the wall

“Love is unattainable

So please, don’t speak of such things at all.”

 

How does it feel to lose one’s hope?

For I lost my mind long ago

But the insane retain their longings, their dreams

Their senseless passion still has room to grow.

 

I look at those who adorn this place

They sit, and they mumble conversations

They come and go automatically,

Like flowers wilting in a vase, they’re only decorations.

 

They come now because it’s what they know

The real allure has long since fled

They drink the beer (that may just be water)

And leave to go to bed.

 

They move like toys with rusty hinges

And the waitresses refill drinks without a word

Even the customers, their lips move

But not a sound can be heard.

 

I set my glass down, harder than most

And hear the clink of it, loud and clear

I say a few words aloud, and I can hear myself

But no one looks up from their water-beer.

 

So I stand and retrieve my hat

Hand the bartender money he doesn’t see

He stands and polishes a glass with a dirty rag

And I shake my head, this is no place for me.

 

There are many places we have not been

And many places none shall go

But when the dead gaze through bodies alive

And the silence is a curse, you know.

 

The insane travel a road unknown

To places that may or may not be true.

The living lie, and the dead believe

And the sky isn’t always blue.

 

Beware those who breathe

For it is the living who tell the lies

The dead, mouths sewn closed

Just stare with sightless eyes.

 

By: Shayla Sayer

Reviews

[Legion]

I haven't had much time to review of late but felt like I should tonight. This is my first piece to review and let me tell you, it is my last for the night. I don't think it can be topped so I will stop here and go to bed. Brilliant piece of work as well as a deep hard look at life (or what we call it anyway) for what it is. Bravo and kudos!

[Raven Starhawk]

I think I could relate to this because it so closely reminds me of something I went through when I was a few years younger. You never know what lies one might speak. It may appear to be small and harmless but they are anything but. The lies can snowball and get way out of hand. Then when they are exposed they really show a person for who he or she really is.

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

A deep set emotion and clever wording, well done, good read.

[Poetic Beauty]

I completely love this piece. The insane do get to go place that we shall never see and the dead can't tell lies. The flow of this was smooth and the descriptions strong and true. I want to know where the insane person went after having water-beer?