To Tell a Lie



One can never lie
For if to lie is to tell an untruth
then the truth is that to lie
you can't be true to what you say
yet you say it all the same
so it must be true to you
'else what's the use in lying
save to tell a lie
making it all the more untrue

So, to never tell a lie
you mustn't tell the truth
for just as a lie is the truth to you
the truth will lie to all who hear
and it is you telling that lie
that is now untrue to all save you
so to make the truth nothing but true
you have to lie to only you
or surely you must be a liar
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Submitted by finnmillis on July 02, 2021

Modified on March 05, 2023

38 sec read
4

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAXXCXAC ABCXACCCX
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 519
Words 125
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 9, 9

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    "To Tell a Lie" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/104055/to-tell-a-lie>.

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