A Lament for Truth
By Kenneth Arthur

I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.
– Martin Luther King, Jr.

Somber suits donned,
we gather to mourn.
Tears caress cheeks
as we face truth:
Truth is dead.

It may have won out some day
but instead we done shot it dead.
Without Truth, there are no
truth-tellers, no prophets.
No Moses to demand let my people go.
No Nathan to hold murderous adulterers accountable.
No Isaiah to stand up for widow and orphan.
The prophets died with Truth.
No Martin to march for justice.
No Harvey to run for office.
No one to lay bare consequences
of power and greed.
No more whistle blowers because
truth has been shot dead,
branded fake, no longer necessary.
No one paid much attention anyway.
We prefer our emperors naked
as long as they strut with confidence
and a fuck you attitude we can mimic.

So we shot Truth dead
and gather to mourn
and wonder if anyone –
politician or preacher,
pipe fitter or paralegal –
has the power to stand graveside
and shout, Lazarus, Come Out!