Minor Lie

and now Jan’s spirit has sunk low
downtrodden by the lie she told
depression ready to begin
she did not understand it then

too young at seventeen to wed
she bent the truth—away it went
just one more year a minor fib
anxiety still wants to live

shame’s pointing fingers all thru town
she has the feel of down and out
it haunts just like a looming ghost
Jan lives today but often mopes

the boo begins the heart beats quick
Jan doesn’t give herself an inch
as memory gets lost in trade
acceding to what guilt would crave

apparent is the drag each day
the sun is out so pull the shade
a little lie out of the past
take care to comprehend the traps

Jan’s day-to-day oft incomplete
she mostly longs for guilt to leave
she feels the ghostly taunt go on
that having often pales with want


24 Lines
Writer’s Cramp
7-16-19