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Truth Is A Bridesmaid

Posted by Doeslittle on July 8, 2008 - 09:26

When you reeled with dislocation
And they said, ‘plenty more fish’,
You floundered paddleless regardless,
When you were fat, and they said,
‘No, just voluptuous,’ you fell bleak,
You hid behind ‘bubbly’ anyway,
When you broke into song at sixteen
And they said, ‘You had the voice of an angel’,
You saw diva-hood as a natural progression
From the shower and karaoke
Despite the acne crown and dank hair,
When you were told you were ageing
Like fine wine and the passing years
Herald wisdom - we lean on these lines
Because we can be frank or rude, can’t we?
We can be honest or thoughtless,
We are candid or hurtful, aren’t we?
Yet you’ll take the sting of insubstantive
Over the wasp-like realism that waits
In the wings; for now you want collusion
In your delusion, you’ll take the specious,
You’ll swallow that they lied. What a mockery
We make of sincerity! We imitate and claim it
Like a prize and truth, in truth, we find we are
Ever the bridesmaid, never the bride.

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Comments

Ewan | July 8, 2008 - 10:14

Very fine writing as usual: really liked the internal rhymes and half rhymes, 'collusion, delusion' 'mockery/sincerity'.

Bitter, wry and pessimistic. I enjoyed it.

regards Ewan

PS
Your teaser is a cue for a writing exercise!
Write something uplifting! (Joking)

Doeslittle | July 8, 2008 - 12:01

Thanks Ewan. Sadly, the only thing uplifting about me might be my bra.

jennifer | July 9, 2008 - 13:44

And then only if you change your bras every six months, according to M&S experts who were shocked when they discovered the age of mine!

Love this line, reminds me of me...

'You saw diva-hood as a natural progression
From the shower and karaoke'

(I'm tone deaf and was once banned from karaoke at University because I was so awful!)

Dynamaso | July 10, 2008 - 05:03

I too thought this was very well written indeed. My personal favourite line is

'Yet you’ll take the sting of insubstantive
Over the wasp-like realism that waits
In the wings;'

I was once kicked out of a choir for singing flat, despite my protests. I later went on to be the lead vocalist in a number of locally successful bands.

Dendrite | July 10, 2008 - 09:39

From my (skewed and twisted) POV, the hinge line that links the examples in the first half of the poem to the rather brutal assessment in the second half is:

Herald wisdom - we lean on these lines

It makes the point to beware false sincerity, how we so readily grasp on what others say and think, especially when young, and even, what is the truth anyhow? This tone has a scorched earth policy about it:

You’ll swallow that they lied. What a mockery
We make of sincerity!

very hot words, there is a 'to hell with them all' kind of nihilism I like a lot; built into what would otherwise be only a lamentation. It might be they didn't lie but only told a smaller, or piece of, the truth. There's always much left to ponder in your poems and they have staying power. Did you say voluptuous? Just kidding, I'm being insincere, ahem...

Doeslittle | July 10, 2008 - 17:12

Your skewed and twisted POV is quite right. Thanks for comments. I think I'm a bit obsessed with honesty, but as you say, when you really think it through the truth is hard to pin down. I like the idea of a tone of scorched earth policy.