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I am held in the teeth of a lie
Posted: 17 April 2006
Word Count: 66
Summary: it's about being lied to, and being complicit in the lie
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I am held in the teeth of a lie
I am held in the teeth of a lie.
This is what it takes: a word, or a phrase, you decide.
You put your hand in mine and say it. The lie. Say
no no no, ha ha, honestly, truly. My love.
Look at me closely. Go on, it’s me. Your daughter. Look at me.
Bite me.
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Comments by other Members
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 NinaLara at 07:25 on 18 April 2006
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This is really effective ... I like it very much. It has got me thinking about the possibilities of you writing a second more 'innovative' (in the post-modern sense) poem about lies, language, teeth ... fed up to the back teeth, lying teeth, pulling teeth ... nibbling, biting, chewing etc. The variations are endless.
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Swoo at 16:46 on 18 April 2006
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thank you Nina! - it's a weird little thing, came out in an angry splurge in about two minutes flat. I don't feel like I've given it any sort of attention in terms of construction. I like your ideas - I do feel there should be a longer piece of work about this subject - in time. There is something about being lied to which makes the recipient feel quite insane. It's an area I want to explore. I think Adrienne Rich? wrote a poem about being lied to - something about it feeling like falling off the edge of a cliff (obviously put much more eloquently than that!)
thanks again
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 joanie at 16:10 on 19 April 2006
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Hi Swoo. I like the concept of 'the teeth of a lie', which conjures up images of being held defenceless when lies are told about you or to you.
I like the conciseness of this and especially the last line. You have portrayed the feeling of a challenge very well; it seems aggressive, almost.
I wondered about the repetitions but I'm not sure whether it would lose some of its effectiveness if you were to change it. No, I've read it again and think it's good as it is.
typo: 'put your hand'
Is 'the teeth of a lie' an expression or have you coined the phrase? It's excellent.
joanie
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Swoo at 18:19 on 19 April 2006
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Joanie, thanks for this - dammit, how could I have missed that typo?! Just goes to show how important it is to have other eyes reading stuff.
It's such a personal splurge of a poem I'm not sure I can even really call it a poem. A rant, more like.
I had a dreadful week recently and this was the result of driving from North Wales to London in torrential rain having had no sleep and trying to organise a feeling. The 'teeth of a lie' is a bit of thieving - or inspiration :-) - from hearing, on that journey, a character on a radio 4 play talk about being gripped by the teeth of a gale.
It felt like a present from the gods of sanity to help me put things into words. Yes, I felt aggressive, amongst other things. Lies hurt.
I think for now it probably belongs in a diary and will need some expanding before I'd offer it up as a 'serious' bit of work.
But thanks.
Parents, pah - I'm with Philp Larkin.
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steve_laycock at 21:09 on 20 April 2006
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Hmm, there's loads contained in just a few lines.
i really like the 'no, no, no, ha ha,' because of the subject matter it's suddenly really menacing.
The teeth of a lie reminded me a of a big toothy grin when you're lying. "Bite me" - great ending as well.
steve
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