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!!

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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.