The high altar of truth
Ascended by only a few
Too many options, from youth
To infirmity, to forge a new
Path of denial, lies uncouth
Evasion, calumny, fiction join the queue
But truth searches souls
Not just brains yielding words
Wrenching admissions from deep holes
Normally protected by barriers and swords
Hearts not spleens play the roles
Bleeding honesty through unwilling wounds
Once past the chasm of inner respect
And passed the profound Tutu test
Turn the thoughts to foes, you expect
To face, not at their behest
But in the court to reconcile, and accept
Where rights, wrongs, truth and lies rest
Together, to protect
Humanity’s best
Winston Salem, North Carolina, USA, December 2018
