"Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!"

For a few short weeks my cell was home,

There was no place I could roam,

Visitors came often but not for me,

One snickered, “The truth will set you free,”

But the longer I was held, the more I found,

Truth was beyond the court, it was more profound,

Certain truths solidified, like, the sun will always rise,

Unless there’s a big bang kind of surprise,

I believe in love, even in those times of drought,

When everything I tried just didn’t work out,

I believe in God even though some insist,

“There’s no proof that He even exists,”

As other prisoners served the time they got,

They asked me why I was there, “I forgot,”

I said, because I didn’t want to waste my breath,

Saying a truth like, “Give me liberty or give me death,”

I didn’t want my time to be garnished,

All truths could be challenged or punished,

In a short while another judge reduced my time,

Deciding my incarceration didn’t fit the crime,

My lawyer walked me through the first door,

He said, “Please, just listen, don’t say anymore,

See this machine? It detects truth and lies,

But the machine acts almost human, no surprise,

It might believe the truth I’m telling,

Even though it’s lies I’m selling,

If I can tell a lie without batting an eye,

Or tap my finger, the lie will pass by,

I’ll demonstrate with one little test,

What if a tree falls in a forest,

And no one sees or hears the fall,

Is it true that it makes sound at all?

Or what if a man should make a mistake,

And there is no woman to correct or offense to take,

Is it true he made a mistake?

See, the answers prove me out,

The lie detector leaves a lot of doubt,”

We continued until I had passed the last door,

I realized I was closer to truth than before,

If I wanted the truth to correspond to facts,

I had to be careful with all my future acts,

I didn’t need liars who could be trouble,

I would refrain from the truth or burst their bubble,

 I had been making a long mental list,

Of all types of liars that would always exist,

Lawyers, salesmen, fishermen, politicians too,

All have been known to stretch a few,

Eventually the thought crossed my mind,

I’d stay around women and the truth I’d find,

But once in the world and free as a bird,

I was shocked at all the things I heard,

About women lying, dyeing, tanning, all down the block,

Trying to convince they had been missed by time’s clock,

Sharing secrets that weren’t facts to each other,

About her kids, his wife, someone’s brother,

Telling lies often enough that they became the norm,

And the real truths couldn’t weather the storm,

A grain of truth here, a lie there, it was a trend,

The women were truly as bad as their men,

I came to a conclusion that made sense to me,

Truth is a mixture of what we believe and what we see,

Beliefs and disbeliefs, Santa Claus, faeries, or a ghost,

Lying for good reasons, which untruths do we boast?

Truth is something to be proud of, something to inspire,

Otherwise we become kids, “Liar, liar, pants on fire!”

Me, Love, Eva, and one Identified Male

Eva said she would be waiting if I came by her house,

She was there on the porch, wearing jeans and a blouse,

Looking casual with her pants tucked into her boots,

Over one shoulder was draped her swimming suit,

Although I wondered about that, I still had my smirk,

I was excited and impatient, just off of work,

We had talked about swimming at our last dance,

What we would do also if we got the chance,

Our bodies said a thousand things without talking,

As we floated across the floor, barely walking,

I felt that sexual itch as she moved with sinuous grace,

Although my steps quickened, Eva kept up with my pace,

I did not want the dance to stop, or to ever let her go,

But she returned to her partner, despite her fevered glow,

If only she had been with me we’d never have to part,

She was a breath of fresh air, into my lonely heart,

She bumped into me once as she went to fix her hair,

And in my pocket I discovered a note she had placed there,

Eva’s phone number, her address, a place we could meet,

All the important things so we could later greet,

When I called we soon became fast friends,

We were soul-mates, sharing even the latest trends,

We had much in common, but I wondered about her man,

“I can’t tell him yet,” she said, “Please try to understand,

I want to be with you,” she paused, “but he’ll never set me free,

I’m not sure just what he’ll do, but he’ll never let you have me,”

Such ominous words Eva said and then cried that night,

But fearing to love is like fearing to breathe, “I’m ready to fight,

You are the one I want,” I said hoarsely, “But tonight,

I want to love you, kiss you, and make you truly mine,”

“See me tomorrow,” she said, “when you first get off work,

I know a place we can be alone, and no one else can lurk,”

We would talk by the river, with the moon as our guard,

Lock up our common sense, and then our clothes discard,

Turn our imaginations loose and let our love run free,

We would love until the morrow, under the tall oak tree,

Now I could see her waiting but pacing back and forth,

I was coming from the south but she kept glancing north,

In front of her yard a car came to a slow stop,

She stared but there was no time to move or drop,

I saw a gun appear and then the sudden flash,

A window shattered, another one suddenly crashed,

I couldn’t just wait until the man had emptied his gun,

Love sparks courage, to me the war had just begun,

I aimed my car, pushed the pedal, and felt a satisfying crash,

I was going for the gun but into me someone did smash,

The police arrived a little too late for this important date,

Quickly I was on the ground, handcuffed, ready for my fate,

A SWAT team had been two streets over, finishing up a drug raid,

They were not in a mood to listen, their minds already made,

I was out of control, according to what the police had seen,

Then Eva arrived and saw me, and tried to explain the scene,

The three of us were taken downtown to sort out this mess,

Trying to determine who was wrong, at first was anybody’s guess,

Gradually reports came in from detectives who verified her tale,

Finally I was out, but also released was one identified male,

In the custody of his lawyer, who was as crooked as a dog’s hind leg,

The lawyer knew judges and got what he wanted without having to beg,

But I had been touched by love, for me it was a permanent bond,

I went back to Eva’s house, wanting her, needing her to respond,

I knocked once, twice, but she refused to open the door,

“I love you, I truly do,” she said loudly, “but I think I love him more,

I know he’s a little misguided, but he loves me just the same,

He wouldn’t have missed if he didn’t love me, to him it’s just a game.”

Confused and disheartened, I could no longer be part of this strife,

I was still in love with Eva, but I had to get on with my life,

Part of my heart belongs to her, but I’m alive to tell this tale,

The two of us couldn’t fit in her heart, me and one identified male.