Hear tell no Lie and hear direct—
Defeat in Straightness stands
Too dark for our robust Despair
The Lie’s grotesque demands
As Darkness to the Elders teased
With obfuscation mean
The Lie must uncloud suddenly
So every beast be seen—
***
Today’s prompt from NaPoWriMo: Find a shortish poem that you like, and rewrite each line, replacing each word (or as many words as you can) with words that mean the opposite. For example, you might turn “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” to “I won’t contrast you with a winter’s night.”
I was pretty happy with how well this turned out. And of course, here’s the original from Emily Dickinson.
Tell All the Truth But Tell It Slant
Tell all the Truth but tell it slant—
Success in Circuit lies
Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth’s superb surprise
As Lightening to the Children eased
With explanation kind
The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind—
***
It’s been a pleasure, all. Thanks for prompting, playing, and reading along. Happy NaPoWriMo!!
***
And I’m linking up at dVerse for the first time. Have been lurking for a while and decided it’s time to participate. 🙂 Go check it out for lots of great poetry.