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On Lies and Liars

A Double (Petrarchan) Sonnet

.
“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to
do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from
the beginning, and has nothing to do with the
truth, because there is no truth in him. When he
lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he
is a liar and the father of lies.”  —John 8:44
.

They curse the light who brandish brazen lies
That serve as blackout curtains for the soul
And twist reality by half or whole
To shield the truth from yearning searching eyes.

Since freedom dies in darkness, they surmise
That stuffing bushelled candles in a hole
Will snuff those candles out and give control
To those who seek impunity’s demise.

Yet God will not be mocked. For soon the light
Of truth will in its turn, break out and set
The world ablaze with Holy Spirit fire
As life and liberty outshine the night
And happiness pursued will even yet
Consign both lies and liars to the pyre.

.
Though darkness cannot overcome the light
Of even one thin-tapered candle’s flame
To call such darkness by its fallen name
Will stir the ire of hell’s pride-blinded might.

For though defeated by the cross, the fight
Continues as the One Who Knows No Shame
Spews death, while with the risen Lord who came
To save, we walk by faith and not by sight.

To stand against that darkness sets us free
To speak the truth to power without fear;
For death no longer holds us in its thrall.
Instead, we fight for life and liberty,
And cry out, Maranatha, “Lord draw near.”
For in His light, the Lord of Lies will fall.

.

.

James A. Tweedie is a retired pastor living in Long Beach, Washington. He has written and published six novels, one collection of short stories, and three collections of poetry including Mostly Sonnets, all with Dunecrest Press. His poems have been published nationally and internationally in The Lyric, Poetry Salzburg (Austria) Review, California Quarterly, Asses of Parnassus, Lighten Up Online, Better than Starbucks, Dwell Time, Light, Deronda Review, The Road Not Taken, Fevers of the Mind, Sparks of Calliope, Dancing Poetry, WestWard Quarterly, Society of Classical Poets, and The Chained Muse. He was honored with being chosen as the winner of the 2021 SCP International Poetry Competition.

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21 Responses

  1. Roy Eugene Peterson

    Amen! That is my admiration and response to such a marvelous meticulous message encased in transcendent truth that echoes throughout eternity.

    Reply
  2. Paul Freeman

    Favourite image – ‘blackout curtains for the soul’. Alas, they’re being handed out in spades, these days.

    Unfortunately, these days, darkness is in abundance. But I’m making my stand.

    Thanks for the read, James.

    Reply
  3. Cynthia Erlandson

    I think this is just marvelous — an exquisite weaving together of many scripture allusions (not to mention a bit of the Declaration of Independence thrown in!). “… stuffing busheled candles in a hole”; “To call such darkness by its fallen name / Will stir the ire of hell’s pride-blinded might” are brilliant and beautiful, as is the light and darkness imagery — and the Truth — throughout.

    Reply
    • James A. Tweedie

      I am very grateful for these three responses to my poem. The sonnets are thick, or even better, dense with meaning and allusion. And Cynthia, it is gratifying to see that you referenced a few of them and may well have made note of many of the others.

      I am, of course, hopeful there will be others who will leave a comment or thought to share. But these first three were appreciated and gratefully received.

      Reply
  4. Warren Bonham

    Very well crafted and a great reminder that, despite how dark things seem now, we do know the ultimate outcome.

    Reply
  5. Margaret Coats

    James, the poem is admirable for its clarity, as befits a poem where the ultimate concern is not lies and liars, but truth and light. As you say, it is dense with Biblical allusion, and political and philosophical and theological concepts, but the clarity comes from excellent English syntax. The reader does not have to recognize every profundity in order to understand the piece. You are right to have a very few unidiomatic markers calling for closer attention, such as “bushelled candles.” Unless one knows the injunction not to hide one’s candle under a bushel, this could conjure up an odd image of candles sold by the bushel. But you show that you mean lighted candles in the following line, and assert the significance of even one flame in the second sonnet of the pair, which should help anyone perplexed by the bushel.

    I found “impunity’s demise” a worthy challenge. This is an intriguing and unidiomatic way to state the goal of liars in control. Do they really want to kill anyone who might make a pert remark? The answer may be yes, because it puts their lies in danger, but when I take a deeper look at the root of “impunity,” the word means “unpunished.” The demise of impunity means all are punished. Ultimately, liars in control of social discourse aim for everyone (including themselves and their adherents) to be punished in hell. That is the realm of the father of lies, and he wants it filled. Reminds me of an abortion counselor whose job was to persuade pregnant women with reservations to go ahead and have the abortion. She was effective, but even one failure sent her into traumatic distress. Just one woman who said no to abortion meant that she herself could have done so. Her choice was not regrettable but inevitable. It was wrong, and the counselor (helped by her naysayers) finally saw the light and left the job as liar.

    Reply
    • James A. Tweedie

      Margaret,

      So glad you caught the implications embedded n the phrase, “impunity’s demise.” It was satisfying to find a word and phrase that so profoundly captured the gist of what I was trying to articulate. As you say, there is much in this poem that might well be missed by most readers, but–to be honest–I had you in mind as I wrote it, knowing that if anyone could catch the nuances it would probably be you. It was a pleasant surprise to find the Cynthia (and perhaps others) did as well.

      Satis est.

      Reply
    • D. R. Rainbolt

      Great use of Biblical allusions! I love the line “Stuffing bushelled candles into a hole”. Beyond Matthew 5, it also reminds me of the children’s song, “Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m gonna let it shine!”

      Reply
  6. Mia

    Thank you James for this poem. I have read it several times but couldn’t think of the appropriate words or phrase to comment. As usual, Margaret’s comment and knowledge has helped. The poem is admirable. Impunity’s demise, which I did not at first fully understand is quite an amazing and perplexing phrase but once it is fully understood it is breathtaking because of the understanding it so succinctly conveys.
    My own take on this admirable poem? Although it doesn’t underestimate the nature of evil , far from it, it is heartwarming and uplifting in its positivity and faith.
    Quite a combination and it works beautifully thank you.

    Reply
    • James A. Tweedie

      Thank you, Mia, for your kind and encouraging words for both Margaret’s comment and my poem.

      Reply
    • Margaret Coats

      Thank you, Mia and James, for your appreciation of my interpretation of this very rich poem. I agree with Mia that the consideration of evil so carefully done here is ultimately uplifting.

      Reply
  7. Joshua C. Frank

    It’s a nice poem, and very well done, but a bit optimistic; yes, good will win in the long run, but to quote John Maynard Keynes countering a similar argument about the economy, “In the long run, we are all dead.” Really, all it means for us is don’t join the devil’s side because he’ll eventually lose.

    Reply
    • Mia

      No, I am sure you didn’t mean this as it comes across- we don’t join the devil’s side because it isn’t right. It is better to lose on the right side than win on the wrong one. I beg your pardon if I misunderstood you.
      Of course it is better to win for all the things that matter.

      Reply
      • Joshua C. Frank

        I meant that this was the idea expressed by the speaker through the argument that Jesus will win in the long run, as if it were all about a gambler’s calculation of betting odds. For those of us who are on the side of good, this fact is irrelevant, for all the reasons you mention. Plus none of us are likely to live to see it anyway. It’s a shame to put all that effort into a well-crafted poem only to convey such a poorly-thought-out message. Perhaps he intended to tell us that a thing is good or evil only because God, who is more powerful than His opponent, says so, and He gets to decide because He has the most power. But even this would buy into the view that “might makes right.”

        It would be better to show the reader why good is always to be preferred over evil no matter what the betting odds, as I hope to do in my own poems. It doesn’t matter if the pro-baby-killing side is winning despite (and maybe even partly because of) the overturn of Roe v. Wade; abortion is always an evil act, and all who participate are guilty of murder and without excuse.

  8. Mia

    Dear Joshua,
    I can’t seem to reply underneath your comment but this is the reply to your comment. Am afraid I don’t read the poem in that way at all. I am also at a loss as to how you come to that conclusion. The poem is very clear about the triumph of truth and light .
    It is clear in its message in that “the one who knows no shame spews death” and that the Lord came to save, so it is not about winning per se in the long run.
    in my mind, spewing death , encompasses abortions and mutilations. So although they are not mentioned they are implied
    and clearly shows why good is preferred over evil.

    I like the poem very much. in my opinion its message is good and clear.

    Reply
    • Joseph S. Salemi

      To Joshua —

      It’s important to realize that a poem does not exist simply to send a message. As Louis B. Mayer famously said, “If you want to send a message, call Western Union.”

      Poems, as fictive artifacts, exist in a realm of their own. Tweedie’s poem is complex and beautiful. Nitpicking small metaphysical details over what is being said about the struggle against evil is not a part of literary criticism. It’s enough that Tweedie has produced a magnificent double Petrarchan sonnet, rich in vocabulary, allusion, and figurative language. One line alone (“Will stir the ire of hell’s pride-blinded might”) is amazing and unforgettable.

      The disease of poets is to be trapped by the three miseries (Meaning, Message, and Moral).

      Reply
      • James A. Tweedie

        Thank you, Mia and Joseph for your defense and affirmation of my poem. In reply to Joshua, I would add two things:

        1. In Christian theology God is not Good because he is all-powerful (omnipotent). It is quite the opposite of this. God is all-powerful because God is Good, Just, and above all else, because God is Love. God’s power is derived from his Righteousness.

        And this leads to my second point, which is,

        2. We partake of God’s power when we share in his righteousness. Both the Old and New Testaments are very clear in this. In regards to this, my poem is quite clear that that we who follow the Judeo-Christian faith and practice divine love, not only share in God’s final victory over sin in all its manifestations, but actively participate in exposing it, rejecting/repenting of it, and actively opposing it:

        “To stand against that darkness sets us free
        To speak the truth to power without fear.”

        In my Reformed Presbyterian tradition, 19th century American candidates for ordination to pastoral ministry were asked a long series of question they were required to answer with affirmatives. My favorite question (which, regretfully, is no longer asked) went something like this: “If you knew for a certainty that you were to be condemned to hell for all eternity, would you still affirm the Lordship of Christ and follow him with all your heart, mind, soul, and might to the end of your days?”

        We don’t follow Jesus to “get into heaven” or to gain a victory or to access some sort of divine power (see Simon Magus for this point), but because we “hunger and thirst” for this way of life here and now.

        As I said, the Bible—from beginning to end, from the Law and the Prophets through Jesus Christ/Messiah—is unequivocally clear on this.

        This is the theology and moral philosophy embedded in my poem.

        As Jesus said (and I paraphrase), “You either get it or you don’t.”

  9. Joseph S. Salemi

    Oh God — this is exactly what I didn’t want to start: another long debate on theology to distract us from aesthetics.

    Reply
    • Mia

      I really like the word aesthetics. Your post about the message of a poem being secondary got me thinking. And although I know I can appreciate good poetry and it isn’t a contradiction as for example you don’t have to be a jeweller to appreciate jewellery I couldn’t think of the right word to express what I should
      be concentrating more on. It might even help me to approach poetry in a way that may be productive.
      Personally I think it is amazing to have good debates-perhaps that’s why I am not a poet-yet. I will keep hoping till the end.

      Reply
      • Joseph S. Salemi

        Sometimes the linguistic beauty of a brilliant poem, even if its meaning is opaque, will knock you over like a broadside from a battleship.

        This happened to me when, as a teenager, I first read T.S. Eliot’s “Sweeney Among the Nightingales.” I later came to study the poem more closely and in detail, and my appreciation extended to its references and meaning. But that first reading hit me like a bolt of lightning.

  10. James A. Tweedie

    Joseph,

    My experience was similar to yours when, in high school, I first read Eliot’s “Prufrock” and Amy Lowell’s “Pattern,” each of which seemed like scratch and sniff time machines that opened doors for me to experience a moment in time and history that was both visceral and cognitive. Six years later I chose Eliot’s “Murder in the Cathedral” as the core subject of my MA thesis.

    In my recent interview with A.B. Brown, I asserted that above all else, “a poem should slap a person in the face–or kiss them on the cheek, perhaps–and get their attention.”

    It appears that we agree on this, although, of course, you have said it better than I did!

    Reply

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