I’m rereading Heather Hughes’ poem, "My Grandfather Was A Cherokee Princess And Other Lies" when a curious thought occurs...well, a few of them really, but we’ll not drag around in semantics! What’s important is that I’ve got curious, little “thought creatures” that I’m now going to set free! “Thoughts about what” you ask?

They’re stuff of countless proverbs: tall tales, deception, half-truths, fibbing, omission, bluffs … mystification, beguilement, bad faith, white lies. But, what do we really know about these odd communicative devices? We know some are fully permissible (like when a child asks where babies come from) – and some are “band aids”, meant only to last until the deceived are ready for the truth – like Santa and Student Loans! We know people who swear against them, claiming lives of fervent sobriety – while others seem to commit with ease. Using them daily, there are even those who rely on lies to make a living: truth-stretching to reach sales quotas, beguiling 6-year-olds into getting flu shots, “puffery” and impossible promises, making the world of marketing un-told millions – no hour of TV being complete without their merciless barrage (there are also ample jokes about politicians and lawyers – but we won’t go down that road, today). There are even competitions for lying, awarding such titles as: world champion liar and the Crick Crack Club’s winner of the esteemed "Hodja Cup".

With extensive marks in our culture, history, literature, and art, “lies” undoubtedly take up real estate in the human experience. They’ve been the subject of philosophical pondering as far back as Plato (c. 428/427–c. 348/347 bce). Every major religion seems to be weighing in, as well. We know they’re generally bad – though most will agree there’s a definite spectrum and that not every lie’s created equal. *And, in our present world raddled by extremes, we’re lucky the average person falls somewhere between abstinence and professional fabulist... the world didn't used to be so liberal! Nevertheless – lethal or un-hazardous, treasonous or trifling – I desire to know them better, or perhaps, to see them through a different light.

Encyclopedia Britannica defines lying as “any communicative act that aims to cause receivers of the communication to adopt, or persist in, a false belief” – which, I’m sure is news to no one. My curiosity’s cradled somewhere beyond this, though. Aside from propagating false beliefs, can lies be used for something more? With her permission, here’s Heather’s poem:

"My Grandfather Was A Cherokee Princess And Other Lies"

I handle the breakup expertly.
Every night I recite the entirety
of La Peste in the original French.
On a sodden bench
by the river in Carolina,
next to an imitation Turner,
I charcoal portraits
of the desperate.
The story goes
they crushed the bones
of Egyptian mummies for the gold
accents. That last bit may be true.

Being that they’re in a poem whose title –ironically– confesses deceit, how are these lies different? What functions do they serve, now? When a lie confesses itself as such, doesn’t it simultaneously imply something of the truth? [*see what I mean: “thought creatures”…] These are what we’ll explore in the prompt half of our latest poetry escapade: Write your truth in a bag of lies.

To be continued...