This woman spoke unvarnished truth:
Rough-hewn, strong, she put the world to rights,
Crusaded and appealed,
Would never yield,
Slept easy in her bed at nights.
But Truth’s an easy friend when light,
When others hold a burdened weight:
She found she had a different fight
When Truth was sent her way by Fate.
There – in her soul – the War began:
Power fought Pride, and Status won;
Her integrity was gone.
Time slipped by; Truth changed its face;
She realised to her disgrace that she had bought a lie.
No matter: the damage done,
Her essence torn through to the bone,
It wasn’t Truth she couldn’t bear
But what the mirror showed was there.
In this poem one of those righteous crusaders for Truth is given a little power and suddenly finds that pride and status control her more than her desire for Truth.
A year or two later she realises – publicly and bitterly – that she made the wrong decision and that she’s been lied to. Her anger comes from what she’s seen of herself.
