Whispers

I heard the whispers,

little tendrils of

shameless gossip

entwined with lies

that hung heavily

somewhere between

you and I.

I heard the rumours,

little delusions

of a poisoned mind.

They blistered the tongue,

scorched the throat,

refused to be swallowed

by you or I.

I felt the fear,

sudden isolation

and loss of face,

A shift in foundations

I had thought secure

A promised future

for You and I

I found the truth,

hidden within a lie,

within a lie,

like Russian dolls

and at the centre

a stark and solid truth

not to be denied

by You or I

Reviews

[Rosalind Gale]

"I found the truth,
hidden within a lie,
within a lie,
like Russian dolls
and at the centre
a stark and solid truth
not to be denied
by You or I"

Took me way back S, to my own Russian doll - gosh, I do not normally just say 'love this' - but I must - 'love this.' I believe some of us on here should all get together some day and have a cocktail or two and tell our stories. Wonderful.

Much love
Rosa
-xx-

[New Dawn]

Wow thanks Rosa - high praise indeed - and yes it would be great to sit around and chat although I had a lovely old country inn in mind with a roaring fire and comfy chairs :)

[Rosalind Gale]

;) - sounds perfect to me -
-x-

[ba_mcfarlane]

An intimate theme,often unspoken, yet you have put it all down, with not a word misplaced. You aren't one to shy away from a theme when it's in your cross hairs, are you? Your verse is strong like rent, and carried by the power of writing less is more. I love Dickinson, I love Giovanni. You know what they knew. A great write.

[New Dawn]

Thank you so much - most of my poetry is short - I often write a poem, leave it to mature a little and then remove what I consider to be all the unnecessary words - I'm glad you enjoyed it

[ba_mcfarlane]

Less really is more.

[SHEEMA HUQ]

such good use of so little words and great structure too

[New Dawn]

Thank you for your kind review

[Emma Ruth]

I love your imagery, especially your reference to the russian dolls - very nice piece :)

[New Dawn]

thank you - i was trying to imagine layers of truth or lies and the image of russian dolls came to mind. they have always fascinated me

[Neville]

Shelley, you have written something very special here. Thank you & as I have said before, keep them coming. All Good Things, Neville

[New Dawn]

Thank you neville for your kind review

[Nautili]

Oh my, this is really good. i love your style of writing, so effortless, not forced at all,
but rich with meaning and symbolism.

[New Dawn]

thank you so much. I usually write my poems - leave them for a day or two then return and remove ' surplus to requirment 'words - sems to work for me, really glad you liked it :)

[TheJordBaker]

Amazing, the tone and style of this is magnificent and it's written so elegantly and intelligently. Reminded me a little of reading Poe. Top stuff :)

[New Dawn]

thank you for this thoughtful review - i am glad you enjoyed the poem :)

[J. J. Nightingale]

Wondering if the truth was good or bad .. . Truth is a good thing to discover ... Sometimes we wish we'd never known ..

Interesting thoughts . .. Jazz

[New Dawn]

yeah, thought i would leave it a little ambiguous - let the reader decide. Could go either way - whispers and rumours are sometimes rooted in fact :)

[J. J. Nightingale]

True ... :)

[...]

. powerful, poignant, and stunning work, dearest shelley ... i relate to it intensely ... you did infinite justice to the image of the russian doll ... that "solid truth" which is at the core (much like the tiniest russian doll) ... is probably what helps many couples transcend the impact of poisonous lies ...