Accept old age
The smug tellers of lies say
Accord is mortal
The smug think they are undying
Liars fear the truth
tanka by Oskar Hansen
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The Right Word
The right word is so annoying,
it always arrives late,
then sits in my head singing,
'I'm what you should have said'
The right word is smug.
Its an 'up its own arse' kind of word,
an absurdly elusive word
that crows its conceited contempt.
The right word is a child,
it never obeys me,
never comes when its called
or when I demand it.
But just tonight, it turned up
right on time, kind of smug, kind of cool,
and made me smile, as I slid it
straight into my next line.
poem by Ruth Walters
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What Do Liars Then Do?
Liars know who they are.
And what they have done,
To pursue temporary satisfactions.
With a demoralizing of whom they choose.
As if what they've done will stick like glue.
Those who have been scrutinized,
By the telling of false lies...
To have been victimized with tears cried.
Are aware of them too!
Yet to retaliate is something they refuse.
But those who have been undermined,
Do what liars instigating have chosen not to do.
And that is to wait patiently,
To let time intervene...
With a demeaning liars with an applying of truth.
What do liars then do?
Plead to be released from mental guilty beatings.
And even if forgiven,
Liars once exposed for who they are...
Can never find places to keep themselves hidden.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Quiet truth
truth stands quietly by
watching the fabricators of war
continually distort and lie
as their countless victims fight and die
truth cannot be destroyed
or forever abused
political power impotent
to her invincible intent
impassive, eternal
she knows where liars go
consciences afire, burning slow
truth outlasts them, blow after blow
like the shining sun
obscured by dark cloud
truth is still quietly there
though mortal liars be bold and loud
truth has a power all its own
i once read
mess with her
she'll strike you dead
poem by Harlan Simantel
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All Is Truth
it is a lie
i am not myself
i am all of nature
the air, water, grass
every thing in everything
i am not myself
how can i be myself
when if the air goes away
i too have to go away
proving that i am but a lie
i am but a cog in the wheel
it is a lie
i am not myself
i am all of nature
the water, the grass, the clouds
how could i be myself
when if the water runs its last drop
i too would too have to make that last pause from the world
those teachers who get me to think i am just
body and bones are liars
i am more than that
how could i be myself only
when if the sun says goodbye
i too have to say goodbye to all
call me anything buy myself
the sun, the moon, the air, water
will vouch for that
you liars
inspired by
All Is Truth
O ME, man of slack faith so long!
Standing aloof-denying portions so long;
Only aware to-day of compact, all-diffused truth;
Discovering to-day there is no lie, or form of lie, and can be none,
but grows as inevitably upon itself as the truth does upon
itself,
Or as any law of the earth, or any natural production of the earth
does.
(This is curious, and may not be realized immediately-But it must be
realized;
I feel in myself that I represent falsehoods equally with the rest,
And that the universe does.)
Where has fail'd a perfect return, indifferent of lies or the truth?
Is it upon the ground, or in water or fire? or in the spirit of man?
or in the meat and blood?
Meditating among liars, and retreating sternly into myself, I see
that there are really no liars or lies after all,
And that nothing fails its perfect return-And that what are called
lies are perfect returns,
And that each thing exactly represents itself, and what has preceded
it,
And that the truth includes all, and is compact, just as much as
space is compact,
And that there is no flaw or vacuum in the amount of the truth-but
that all is truth without exception;
And henceforth I will go celebrate anything I see or am,
And sing and laugh, and deny nothing.
Walt Whitman
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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The Greys
It isn't the black and white of it that tells you,
illuminates the picture,
gives it depth.
It's the greys,
Those murky shadows display the truth.
and when you want to learn the truth,
the meaning to the shallow tale,
look behind the door.
It isn't the straight forward facts
that illustrate the how or why or pain
or what goes on.
It's the greys
and unless you've been cocooned, you'll see,
it isn't smug, self righteous, good
that teaches us to empathise,
we learn by our mistakes.
poem by Ruth Walters
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I don't want to sound smug but I am reasonably satisfied with how it's gone. I think it's fine.
quote by Colin Firth
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Truth It Can Be Hurtful
I may not like what you say of me but if of me you speak the truth
Though the truth it can be hurtful if it is not spoken without ruth
The truth cannot defame me if of me the truth you say
And if the truth taints my character well that too is okay.
But if you tell lies about someone and know them to be lies
Then the dislike I'd feel for one like you i barely could disguise
For lies can be defamatory when used in such a way
Any respect to a malicious liar i would find hard to pay.
The truth it can be hurtful as we all ought to know
But out of the truth it can be said respect for one does grow
And though you may not like what's said about you at least what's said is true
And to the one who speaks the truth credit is always due.
The truth it can be hurtful but the truth is never wrong
And those who cannot accept the truth mentally cannot grow strong
And though for some the truth is poison they'd rather live a lie
The truth lives on forever and the truth will never die.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Even Green Bears Like Anecdotes About Them
Which college student would turn down even
a few dollars? A notice goes, up, Dr. Wegner
wants some volunteers for half-an-hour, most,
in the Cognitive Research lab…
so when it’s my turn in the queue,
I go in and he says, now go in there
for fifteen minutes, only one instruction,
don’t think about a green bear…
so, money for old rope, with bear attached,
I go in there, check every few minutes that
I haven’t thought about some idiotic green bear…
come out, he’s sitting there with all his smug
students and assistants, looking just as if
I were some green bear, about to amuse them hugely…
so to shut their silly faces up, I don’t wait, but say,
if you’re going to ask me did I think about
that green bear no I didn’t once I checked
every few minutes to see if I’d thought about it no…
and they all laughed…ticked the boxes, wrote
in their don’t- I- love-my-Prof little notebooks with
their smug little smiles to each other…
now I go to sleep
thinking of feeding them one by one
to that green bear, wow they taste good…
I mean, who in their right mind
ever thinks of some green bear…
poem by Michael Shepherd
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All Is Truth
O ME, man of slack faith so long!
Standing aloof--denying portions so long;
Only aware to-day of compact, all-diffused truth;
Discovering to-day there is no lie, or form of lie, and can be none,
but grows as inevitably upon itself as the truth does upon
itself,
Or as any law of the earth, or any natural production of the earth
does.
(This is curious, and may not be realized immediately--But it must be
realized;
I feel in myself that I represent falsehoods equally with the rest,
And that the universe does.)
Where has fail'd a perfect return, indifferent of lies or the truth?
Is it upon the ground, or in water or fire? or in the spirit of man?
or in the meat and blood? 10
Meditating among liars, and retreating sternly into myself, I see
that there are really no liars or lies after all,
And that nothing fails its perfect return--And that what are called
lies are perfect returns,
And that each thing exactly represents itself, and what has preceded
it,
And that the truth includes all, and is compact, just as much as
space is compact,
And that there is no flaw or vacuum in the amount of the truth--but
that all is truth without exception;
And henceforth I will go celebrate anything I see or am,
And sing and laugh, and deny nothing.
poem by Walt Whitman
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God knows how many things a man misses by becoming smug and assuming that matters will take their own course.
quote by Loren Eiseley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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In TV, and in particular in commercials, you don't really need to explain very much at all - you just say he's a spy and he's a little bit theatrical and overblown and smug and he's not very good at his job.
quote by Rowan Atkinson
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Decision Time
He sat in a chair
and rocked all night.
Could not sleep.
He was so uptight.
He thought about lies
being told by liars.
He thought about burnin'
in hell's fires.
He knew how the lies
would take him down.
The liars would win
and wear the crown.
When the night ended
and the sun came through
he saw it shining
and knew what he would do.
He'd change his life
and never look back.
For all the liars
are on the wrong track.
You can't stay on the road
that leads to hell
or you'll end up like the liars
and stay where they dwell.
poem by Edwina Reizer
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An Encyclopedia of Fear (To Ron Oliver)
There's primal fear like a fetus blinded by daylight
There's lingering fear like a zit growing on your nose
There's groundless fear like a dark day covered by a clear night
There's inarticulate fear like a little fish wolfed down by a shark
There's sudden fear like a demon startled by an unfamiliar ghost
There's mortal fear like a soul baffled by heavenly hell
There's fake fear like a popstar blowing his/her lines
There's undying fear like boomerang returning to hit you hard
There's cryptic fear like a stranger ringing at your doorbell
There's fatal fear like falling prey to a predator
There's introverted fear we've invented by ourselves
And have to live with it.
poem by Aram Stefanian
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Those Who Spread Falsehoods
What others say of me can't say I much care
Since of my own shortcomings I am all too aware
But when speaking of me of me do not lie
Since you would not like lies to be spread about you neither would I.
Some truths of me may seem bitter but the truth I can take
I won't lose sleep to the truth all night in bed awake
To deliberately spread lies about someone is a terrible thing
Those who spread falsehoods bad karma on themselves do bring.
Sometimes by the truth friendships are lost and won
But the truth is the truth when all is said and done
The truth can convict you or set you free
And the truth is never wrong with that most would agree
Though we may not always like of us what is true
I will accept the truth since the truth is my due
But deliberate lies of us seem hard to forgive
For I too believe in live and let live.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Laiku 344
Crocodiles:
Rough and tough; street-smart and smug; they are carefree, careless
Well known for their tears, they are opportunistic, merciless!
Too much good fortune can make you smug and unaware. Happiness should be like an oasis, the greener for the desert that surrounds it.
quote by Rachel Field
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Painful Truth
If you tell lies about someone and know them to be lies
Then the dislike I'd feel for one like you i barely could disguise
For lies can be defamatory when used in such a way
Any respect to a malicious liar i would find hard to pay.
The truth it can be hurtful as we all ought to know
But out of the truth it can be said respect for one does grow
And though you may not like what's said about you at least what's said is true
And to the one who speaks the truth credit is always due.
The truth can be hurtful but it is never wrong
For those who cannot accept the truth mentally cannot grow strong
Though some would rather live a lie
The truth lives on forever and shall never die
poem by Ultimate Cyan
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Deep coral flowers
Of Exhora in clumps, stun, warm;
smog smug, shrugs at dawn.
haiku by Mamta Agarwal
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I think that London is very much like that. I find there's humour in the air and people are interesting. And I think that it's a place which is constantly surprising. The worst thing about it? I think it can be smug and aggressive.
quote by Colin Firth
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Liars and Lovers
By Ms. Kristen Palmitier
People who lie once should not be called liars
Because while everyone lies once in a while,
Real liars lie all of the time.
In addition, real liars make others feel that they are no good.
Are lovers and liars different, or are they the same?
Both are different and alike in many ways.
You can't really be sure if you love someone
If there is no trust in each other.
There is just no other way to say it:
'Without trust in each other's heart,
There will be no heart to trust.'
And one alone cannot trust;
Both must trust.
poem by Martin Rini
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