A Lament for Truth

I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Tears caress cheeks
as we gather to mourn:
Truth is dead.

It may have won some day
but instead we done shot it dead.
Without Truth, there are no
truth-tellers, no prophets.
No Moses to demand people go free.
No Nathan to hold murderous adulterers accountable.
No Isaiah to stand for widow and orphan.
No Martin to march for justice.
No Harvey to run for office.
No one to lay bare
consequences of power and greed.
No more whistle blowers
because Truth has been shot dead,
branded fake, no longer necessary.
No one paid much attention anyway.
We prefer our emperors naked
as long as they strut with confidence
and a fuck you attitude we can mimic.

So we gather to mourn
and wonder if anyone –
politician or preacher,
pipe fitter or paralegal –
has the power to stand graveside
and shout, Lazarus, Come Out!

©2020 Kenneth W. Arthur