Smiling bright, without a care,

I always wear this disguise;

a veneer of carefree ease.

No one sees through all my lies.

Showing only a mirror,

I ignore all of my fears;

if you could see my true face,

you could trace the tracks of tears.

All my friend are quite impressed;

none have guessed the hurt inside

that leaves me crying at night.

Out of sight, I weep and hide.

Broken and alone inside,

I have to swallow my pain;

there’s just no way to prevent

screaming silently again.

------------

© 2023 - dustygrein

NOTE: This is an old Welsh poetry form, the Awdl Gywydd (ow-dul gow-id). It is syllabic, as opposed to metric, but with it's interlocking rhyme scheme, it is a lot of fun to craft.

there is a kind of ease

in deception,

a simplicity

in running

from the truth

while the world

cranes its neck

to peer into the windows

of other universes,

false gods traced

in the outline

of the stars.

lying

is the most natural thing

in the world.

the only constant

in the shifting cosmos.

artificial artifacts

crafted from

arthritic hands,

twisted with age and knowledge.

what exactly makes

an artifact

real?

is it the age? the medium?

the status of its owner?

the scale?

artifacts are just another construct

in the pantheon of the past,

built by the modern gods

to profit from history,

mold it to their liking,

and destroy what

doesn't fit.

we are swimming

in artifices,

and we claim

that truth

is in our nature,

but that in itself

is a lie.

I had a pair

of iris that

I loved

blue-voilet

with gold

Ambrosia,

frilled and

feathery to

the touch,

C-U-T--

Perfumed

in the scent

of us

from deep

last night,

NO. 9...

I had a

couple shots

in the dark

that truly hit

the spot,

Click.

Naturalness and Artifice Challenge @Last

Naturalness and artifice

aren’t mutually exclusive.

Aye, anyone who’s ever seen

the cons du jour of Jack Dawkins,

the Artful Dodger we know of,

delivered by ‘Sir’ Charles Dickens,

will naturally agree on this.

His giftedness was heaven sent.