Today’s post is a raw response to the Prosery challenge over at dVerse Poets Pub. The prompt, hosted by Lisa, asks us to write a piece of prose (under 144 words) inspired by the haunting lyric from Alejandro Escovedo: “Bury me with the lies I told.” Cover Photo by Kristina Flour on Unsplash.
The line immediately sparked a sense of internal conflict for me—the exhaustion that comes with maintaining an image and the heavy “vault” we build to protect ourselves (and supposedly others) from the truth. Here is my take on that “fearless moral inventory.”
Portrait of a Liar
I feel regret, I feel false, I feel like a poser.
All the lies I’ve told to make my image feel better, yet, telling myself I lied not to hurt the other person. I’d give anything to not tell the truth. I’d make a list for you to bury me with the lies I told, but first, I have to come to terms with what I have done.
The things that keep me up at night, hoping not to leak any secrets in my sleep. Lips sealed shut in frozen moments, awkward pauses and point-blank stares. This vault CAN’T crack for my own health, not yours. I wish I was bold enough to tell the truth. I wish I could get over myself—the voice in my head telling me that I do it to protect you.
The mirror always reflects a shattered me.
Coming to terms with our own “shattered” reflections is never easy, but there is a strange kind of liberation in writing it down. This prompt, “Bury me with the Lies I told,” forced me to look at the difference between protecting someone and simply hiding from myself.
A big thank you to the dVerse community for the inspiration this week. If you’re a writer or a poet, I highly recommend heading over to the Pub and checking out the other responses to this prompt.
Do you ever feel like you’re guarding a “vault”? How do you handle the weight of the unspoken? Let’s talk in the comments.
Thank you for visiting with me. For more Poetry or Literature related content, visit my blog at The Ritual.
Leave a Reply