In Their Own Words

"If there is no mystery
to these stories we tell,
nothing new
for us to say or hear about
what have we gained?
& what have we lost?"

Daily we hear the unceasing
cacophony of storytellers
at cross purposes with one another,
folks scrambling around just for
a crumb of truth,
something of reality to make their own.

This is the story so far:
one report here, another over there
but the tenor of this tale
- the very truth behind
any given event of note -
remains untold, unheard,
unwritten. Only later,
once the storm clouds break
does the truth finally discover
the front page, but even then
we're hearing nothing but versions
of truth, truth as seen
in different shades & colors.
Everything else is only details,
a frame to hold our story in place.

So the story goes on
without interruption, without conclusion:
tell me then, where can I find
some honesty in your words?
Where can I find sincerity
in your voice?
Most of all, do you have truth?

All we hear are versions,
differing interpretations of honesty,
sincerity, truthfulness.
What more can be said
that hasn't been said already?
In the end, only one take on this story
will win out & that'll be
the one which had facts, information
which was never written down
for us to read.
Then & only then will we know
what we never knew before
& wish we'd known from day one:
more about ourselves,
our expectations, plans & dreams.