“I saw truth flick a cigarette at those guys”
“Truth don’t even smoke,” somebody else said
Another witness remarked, “Truth didn’t do anything, the guys in the car just shot for no reason”
Three people said truth started saying stuff, stuff nobody wanted to hear and that some people told truth to shut up, but truth kept jawing at every body
An elderly woman said truth was in the wrong neighborhood; had no reason to be there, especially at that hour
Somebody said truth needed to get its head on straight, needed some correction, one person, who refused to reveal her identity said all the witnesses were liars
Every body is coming from a different angle here
Every cusp of a cause is claiming their truth is the real truth
It was discovered truth had been shot in the back
Apparently, truth tried to walk away from the scene that night, wasn’t looking for a fight, it was suggested that maybe truth was a victim of mistaken identity, that perhaps the guys in the car thought truth was truth’s half-brother, half-truth, that happens a lot
Five suspects alleged to be in the car that night were brought in for questioning
Nobody admitted to anything and no one who was at the crime scene was willing to go to the lineup and identify anyone
You can’t blame them
If they can kill truth, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill friends of the truth too
You should have seen truth’s funeral
People from every race, neighborhood, income, political affiliation, religion, showed up
Who knew truth had touched so many lives?
Many testified how truth had always tried to make a difference, wasn’t afraid of being unpopular and how truth repaired their marriages and enabled others to face their conflicts and addictions
One person even claimed truth helped them give up fried calamari
It was very moving
At the cemetery, with the lowering of the coffin into the ground (You may not believe this, but I was there and saw it happen)
Truth opened the casket lid and got out, looked at everyone and said, “I’m not dead; you can’t kill me, I’m still here”
Then truth just walked off the cemetery grounds, still in grave clothes, crossed the street and went into this nondescript Chinese take out place and five minutes later got on a bus with what looked a carton of chicken fried rice
Some people were upset, “Where did truth get money for bus fare and food?” said one. Others blamed the media for hyping truth’s death in the first place to further their agendas
Truth, it’s been reported, was seen the following week at a police interrogation in Damascus, a divorce court in Akron, a perjury hearing in Allentown, Pennsylvania, a confessional booth in Holland and at a high school audition for “Cats” in Branson, Missouri
Truth, I just found out, was recently stabbed in a domestic dispute in Richmond, Virginia, but survived
Truth, it seems, gets around a lot
But maybe not as much as some folks get around the truth.
POETRY FESTIVAL. Submit to site for FREE. Submit for actor performance. Submit poem to be made into film. 