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“The only way you can write the truth is to assume that what you set down will never be read. Not by any other person, and not even by yourself at some later date. You must see the writing as emerging like a long scroll of ink from the index finger of your right hand; you must see your left hand erasing it.” Margaret Atwood – “The Blind Assassin”

Today, believe it or not(!) is ‘Tell a Lie’ day. Far from encouraging mendaciousness, it it supposed to create some fun with the more harmless little white lies. And on such a flaky note I came across this fun poem by Judith Askew “Bakery of Lies”

“My favorite is the cream puff lie,
the kind inflated with hot air,
expanded to make an heroic-sized story.

Another is the cannoli, a long lie,
well-packed with nutty details,
lightly wrapped in flakey truth.

A macaroon isn’t a little white lie,
but it’s covered
with self-serving coconut…” (more)

And Richard Wilbur elaborates at length on “Lying”

“To claim, at a dead party, to have spotted a grackle,
When in fact you haven’t of late, can do no harm.
Your reputation for saying things of interest
Will not be marred, if you hasten to other topics,
Nor will the delicate web of human trust
Be ruptured by that airy fabrication.
Later, however, talking with toxic zest
Of golf, or taxes, or the rest of it
Where the beaked ladle plies the chuckling ice,
You may enjoy a chill of severance, hearing
Above your head the shrug of unreal wings.”…(more)

And so in the spirit of the gentle untruth, here is today’s writing prompt:

Poetry Form: The Palinode
A poem that contradicts or retracts something the poet has previously been written.”
For example people, things, ideas, once loved, liked, admired are written with a negative or opposite connotation (or vice versa).

  1. Take one of your own poems and write a Palinode as response to it (link to original or put alongside)
    OR
  2. Write a Palinode of contrary views, as though you have changed your mind/opinion halfway/some way through
    (see for example Wilfred Owen’s “A Palinode”)

Note: Remember today is white lie day so it does not have to be true!

Poetry Style: The Palinode implies the Irregular Ode form of poetry – lyrical language, musical sounding but without any syllabic strictures or rhyme structure.

BUT For those who like an extra challenge there is the option of writing it with formality as:
A Pindaric or Horatian Ode
A Palinode Sonnet

Useful Links:
• Grace’s prompt here on dVerse in May 2021
• The Palinode – Poem Analysis
• The Ode – Poem Analysis

Fun Fact: Ancient Greek, the word “Palin” means “backwards.”, or “anew”, as in palindrome, palinode.

So once you have posted your poem according to the guidelines above, do add it to Mr Linky below then go visiting and reading other contributors as that is half the fun of our dVerse gatherings.

[N.B. Mr Linky closes Saturday 3 p.m. EST]