Photo: thegoodmenproject.com
“There is a price to pay for speaking the truth. There is a bigger price for living a lie.” Cornel West
Pretending
There are some,
but few lines are straight,
we are two uneven halves,
and the wind whips nature
into new maps as rivers
carve bends that even turn
in on themselves while
the relentless ocean
ever wastes itself on
shoreline rocks,
but we become illusion
to satisfy demands,
we straighten lines and bends
offering opinions
that want to be heard,
presenting faces that
want to be seen,
living a deception of ourselves,
pretending to believe in the
straightness of lines.
©Paul Vincent Cannon
Note: The Japanese have a word that describes those who pretend to believe something to suit society – Tatemae
Paul, pvcann.com.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/fountain-made-of-stone-big-57eacee25f9b586c3517bac2.jpg?resize=40%2C40&ssl=1)
Very true
>
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLike
I love it Paul!❤️❤️❤️☕️☕️☕️❤️❤️❤️👍👍
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you indeed ❤️ 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
This poem has given me a lot to think about. I was going say that sometimes pretending to believe in the straightness of lines is needed for survival–but it’s not self-deception. But does that make the pretending even worse?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wonder that, if it’s for survival surely that is discounted, as are all matters in life and death, including an economy of truth.
LikeLike
Cornel West, one of the great minds. To some extent it is conscious and willful, to another extent it’s the mind’s way of diverting some of the stuff away so we don’t go into overload. I think also that too many — myself included — have gotten too entrenched in that diversion rut. Humans are a paradox in being the strongest, yet most fragile simultaneously. We’re flawed, but we’re all we have.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Absolutely Lisa, big yes to that, so agree and thank you for adding that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are very welcome.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Solid words.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Many thanks for that, appreciated.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sure thing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Food for thought, Paul.
I see it everyday when people turn themselves in illusions so easily without even noticing the harm they do to themselves. They loose their originality and close all the doors leading towards improvement.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on The Reluctant Poet.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Many thanks Chuck 🙂
LikeLike
A very beautiful and true poem. Humans try to repair the nature, where it worked best wiithout them. 😉 Thank you Paul! Have a great day. Michael
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Michael, you too 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
:-))
LikeLiked by 1 person