Forbidden – The Daily Prompt!

by simpledimple, posted in Personal Stories, Poetry

We have all Lied!

******

I was asked, how are you?

I said, ‘fine’, thank you

But I knew I wasn’t fine

I knew it was not the appropriate response

‘Not fine’, would have been the right answer

I knew it, yet I said the wrong thing.

So I lied.

******

Why did I lie?

I shouldn’t have

******

How do I reveal to you, my dear friend?

That things are not what they seem

That like the Chameleon that changes its skin colour

I wear a camouflage 

I shield myself in a mask

Wink, smile, laugh and dance

Because the truth is hard to tell sometimes

******

How do I tell you that I ate Fufu?

And not Spaghetti

How do I tell you that I ate Pap and Akara Balls?

And not bread with omelettes

******

How do I tell you that I borrowed money?

To buy the Aso-ebi

And didn’t pay cash and carry

How do I tell you that we are yet to pay the kids school fees?

And that I am worried sick of the consequences

******

How do I tell you that he hit me so hard?

And that the dark goggles I wear

Is not fashion but a façade

To disguise the red and dark patches underneath my eyes

How do I tell you?

That I had cried my heart out

That sleep eluded me

Because I was caught up with emotions

******

How do I tell you?

That jealousy and envy has eaten deep into me

Because life smiled on you

While my fortune is still sleeping

******

How do I tell you the truth about things?

 Tell me, how do I tell you that I detest peace?

That planning and plotting evil is my past-time

How do I tell you that the explosions and bombings

Are my handiwork?

How do I tell you the dark side of my heart?

Tell me how do I tell you?

How do I tell you?

The real me

But is it forbidden to simply tell the truth?

Is it forbidden?

Tell me!

******

Our responses never reveal our inner flaws

We hide the bitter truth

And affirm to the contrary

******

Aren’t we all liars?

Aren’t we all pretenders?

Wrapped up in false smiles

And in varied subtle ways

Say ‘Yes’ when we meant to say ‘No’

And ‘no’ when we ought to say ‘yes’

**********

Glossary:

  • Fufu – Cassava flour pudding 
  • Aso-ebi –  a cultural uniform worn during ceremonies and social events
  • Pap and Akara Balls – corn flour and bean-cakes

**********

The Daily Prompt – Forbidden.

Peace and Love!

Copyright © 2016 by Simpledimple.  All rights reserved.

41 thoughts on “Forbidden – The Daily Prompt!”

    1. Getting this positive affirmation makes my day and I feel happy. I should go for some ice-cream now as a pat on my back, lol. 🙂 Many thanks Aruna, for your kind words. I appreciate that you stopped by. Hugs! Xx

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  2. “How are you?” Is more of greeting rather than question. No one wants to hear about the sad stories or even the great recent happenings. No one genuinely cares to ask how we are doing and it is a sad case. Great take on the prompt.

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    1. Thanks for a great insight, Deb! But even if a genuine interest is shown in this circumstance, are we ready to tell the whole truth as it were…??? That’s another matter! In reality, we cover up a lot in our ‘makeovers’. Hugs, Xx.

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      1. Some people are ready to talk, I now instances that I’ve been willing to talk but never given the chance to. I keep it to myself and believe that no one is interested in my issues… *Hugs*

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      2. Dear Deb, I really think I understood what you mean. It’s sad when one wants to voice out something but find a non-attentive audience. It hurts. Yet, it should not kill our enthusiasm to talk. Hugs back to you and today’s blessings as well. Xoxo. 🙂

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    1. And it’s so good to be blunt in one’s writings because that’s makes you distinct and gives you a writing voice. I tend to be blunt in my writings. I write as I get the nudge to do so and I could be very blunt.

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  5. But is withholding information the same as lying? I pretty much always tell everyone I’m fine even if I’m not, but I don’t know whether that’s because I’m scared of what people will think of me if I say I’m not fine, or if I’m keeping them from the real me, because if they find out who the real me is, then they’ll run away.

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    1. I would deduce from this post that – we are either liars or pretenders, or we simply withhold infos… about the real ‘we’. Almost everyone is guilty of this. I am, hence with my experience, I wrote the post. It’s not unusual. It’s normal I’d say. But then, there are those times when we ought to say the truth about situations we are enmeshed in, but we keep mute until the situation escalates and we begin to seek help. So if you read the end of the post, you’d see that our real ‘us’ is hidden while we go about in false pretenses that everything is okay with us. And those who pepetrate evil will never reveal their intentions even when asked how they feel. And yes, when we reveal who we truly are, there are those who will become wary of us and even run away from our friendships. Sadly, but life is like that.

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  7. Stella – You are so right. I think about this often, especially when my automatic response leave my lips before I think how to respond truthfully without divulging more information than I am comfortable with. Thanks for the reminder. While I usually am “great”, I must purposefully prepare a response for when I am not.

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    1. Hahaha! This is a tricky post. Really, it depends on how you see it. But the truth is that we are all guilty of giving a quick response of what ‘the situation is not’. We tend to shy away from revealing too much of ourselves which is fine and okay. But, then again, sometimes, we deliberately withhold info, knowing the truth will make the other person become wary of us… I tell you, we all ‘wear concealers’ to hide ‘our true colours’. Not many people will comprehend and pick out the salient points in this post. But I wrote it with conviction from the nudges I had. Thanks for your warm comments.

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  8. The real truth we hide from most, but hopefully not from our dearest friend(s). Otherwise, how can we get support or how can we get to vent just a little to relieve the pressure. Here is to BFF’s that can take the heat and not melt. Here is to BFF’s that can dish the heat and we don’t melt.

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    1. You nailed it. How? You know the salient points in this post like you read the writer’s mind. Thank you. Yes, we are all guilty to a certain degree. We reveal ourselves to those who should know ‘us’ and still love our flaws. And we conceal the ‘truth’ from others. Because being humans, there is the tendency that we might loose others trust and friendships when we reveal too much… Yet, there are those people who will never reveal their motives or real situations no matter what… And that is the hard truth about humans! 🙂

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  10. This is a very powerful piece! So many elements that many people can relate to. Also, I liked the physical format as well. Was that intentional? When you read this to yourself, do you phrase it more like a spoken word piece? That was how I found myself reading it and it flowed like a perfect puzzle.

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    1. Wow! Nice to wake up to a lovely comment. And yes, the format was intended to be that way for reading emphasis as you rightly observed. It was the first time I considered my poem fit for a spoken word piece. I sincerely appreciate your kind comment. Thank you. 🙂

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  11. I agree with you. Sometimes, the truth is hard to spell out. For my case, it may not be a matter of being deceitful, but preventing people from getting some juicy gossip about me for their hungry tongues. I feel better bearing my heart to my Maker.

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    1. I can feel your words. Most people are guided by this conviction and reality hence the need to be careful who they divulge their truths to. Everyone is wary of the other person so to speak. 🙂

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      2. Wow! That’s nice to know. So here is a brother I’d say. Will be glad to render any assistance when you need them. And perhaps, I could start by saying that it is more ideal to comment on a reblog… that way, I will get the link on my blog as a future reference. Hope you got my point. Cheers! 🙂

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      1. Ahaha. I am new on this so still trying to figure things out. I actually typed ‘fashion’ in the search tab & this came up. But I am glad it did! Thank you & back at you. X

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      2. Oh I see, interesting discovery then, lol. I’d like to invite you to feel free and cruise on my blog and you’d find other interestings posts. And welcome to blogging and to WordPress. You will get used to how things work in no time. 🙂 Hope to read your works and connect more. Cheers! 🙂

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