The wrong end of a telescope.
When the lie was told
and the fracture set
people I thought close
weren’t there, weren’t near.
When the lie was set
and dishonour bound
the house phone
stopped ringing, ringing loud.
The door-bell left
Untouched too,
no emails or messages,
sought my domain.
When the lie was set
no friends to be found
and no voices raised
to shout the lie down.
So the world snapped
into its own disgrace.
Where were the people
I thought were near?
Where were the people
I thought so close.
The silent friends
not knowing what to say.
But that’s the problem
when nothing seems real
and you look at the world
from the end of a telescope.