_/ (blank slash)
_
/
at first
it was useful
and as humanity progressed
we challenged queried questioned everything
for example
the sky is green
water is dry
god is real
we found all the answers
we found most of the answers
we still do not know the answers
we never will
after the Truth we developed a system
it protects us
it condemns them
truth hurts
lies soothe
time heals
/ to _
liars cannot hide the truth
so we stay silent to hide /
we stay silent to stay _
careless talk costs lives
careless talk costs lies
we check the / everyday
we count their lies
we count their scars
we classify them
us
them
one
the other
_
/
a woman approaches the screening facility
i recognise her from the day before
and the day before that ad infinitum
she steps up to be counted
classified reclassified
her value reassessed
_
/
blank
slash
honest
liar
i ask her to be sincere
i ask her to be honest
i ask her to tell the truth
i know she will not
no one ever does
i fill in her chart while i count
i start with her name height weight age
aged 29
she gives her answer in careful stilted truth
she gives her answer in a dripping fluid lie
a fresh / oozes deceit
so i add another / to my total
she cannot resist the taste of untruth
she cannot resist the illusion of youth
we all have our comforts
lies we tell to soothe ourselves
for example
i hate my job
the next in line is unusual
her skin is unmarked by white lies half truths fibs
and yet still she stands to be counted
a _ amongst /
with them
not us
i cannot understand
until she faces me
a / begins at her forehead
snakes down her face chest stomach legs toes
a single /
a single lie
a single lie repeated and deepened infinitely
cut healed re cut re healed
barely knitted skin still raw freshly pink
the biggest lie she ever told
she tells again and again
she looks me in the eye
i count
i mark a single / on her chart
i look her in the eye
i flinch
a face marred in two by a deep weeping cleft
the face of a liar that tells only one lie
i wonder what lie she told
i wonder what lie she repeatedly tells
i wonder when she will tell it again
i move down the list
the / shuffle forward
shame and guilt forces their heads down
i survey the next /
she is old and worn out
she must remember the time Before Truth
when liars traded knowledge for power
she must have lived through the Truth
when liars had all power but no knowledge
i was born into Post Truth
a world of neither
i watch the old woman
she was beautiful once
she is beautiful
her skin is /
her skin is _
her skin is obscured
her skin is clear
i search her
i cannot find anything
and then i realise it is war paint
make up covering her skin
masking the truth
a / posing as _
a deliberate demonstration of defiance
she stands silently powerfully proudly
in rebellion
she is old
she has nothing to lose
she wipes off her paint to reveal the truth of her lies
and i begin to count
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there are more than 10
there are more than 100
there are more than 1000
i have never seen so many
i run out of space on my chart
the queue of / watch silently
the old woman stands unmoving heroic unashamed
ripe skin turned rotten
i realise this personal protest is her final act of truth
her only act of truth
so be it
i ask her name
she lies
/
i ask her age
she lies
/
i ask her why she lies
she lies
/
she lies
/
she lies
/
she bleeds
every unopened / opens reopens
her dishonesty unwrites rewrites itself
she bleeds
a martyr
she is sorry
she will never lie again
she is not a liar
the liar bleeds
i cannot bear to watch
i watch in horror
i watch in sick satisfaction
the rebel hits the ground
soaks the earth
iron and rust
a pause
and then a sudden shift
i am pushed out of the way
i stumble
i watch
the woman with the single / crouches
croons caresses comforts
she soothes the dying woman
she soothes the lying woman
liar to liar
/ to /
she presses her hands to the old womans wounds
holds her pathetic body
and tries to stem the bleeding
she says
you are going to be okay
the womans single / opens up
forehead to face to chest to stomach to leg to toe
carved in two
rent apart
torn open
ripped at the seam
and she bleeds too
stay calm it is alright
the liars blood mixes
flows from many /
flows from a single /
i watch it pool
you are going to be okay
listen to me you are going to be okay
i promise
we are going to be okay