We ask again, a diff’rent phrase
Perhaps this time we’ll find
The words amidst this tumbled maze
Settled soon will be our mind
Truth we seek, and justice too
At least that’s what we say
It does not matter, red or blue
To verity we must belay
But truth is not so black and white
Each story wears its blinders
What happens in the dead of night
Lives on without reminders
A slight perceived between two friends
The pain no more less real
What once was strong with sorrow ends
Resentment now congeals
An accident at 4th and Yale
Two angry men lay blame
Dashcam footage can’t curtail
An auto now in flames
A mother does not understand
Beloved son now silent
Abuse she could not comprehend
He’s now no more compliant
Before the law two partners stand
A contract torn to shreds
What once was held by shake of hand
Now lays among the dead
Three sides to every story, see
What happened, not so clear
But each believes wholeheartedly
Tall standing, free of fear
An audience soon catches sight
And crowds for each grow louder
You stupid fool, you know I’m right
From mayor to wallflower
Believe the victim, he’s a liar
He wanted it, they laugh
How tall she stands under fire
His defense is just a gaff
Opinions from the public grow
A court of strangers know the way
We’ve never met but still I know
Clear as mud within the fray
Shouts and accusations lie
Around a frozen moment
We can’t forget how best we try
Still caught up in the current
But just because I know my truth
Does not make it fact
That once upon a night in youth
Clarity I never lacked
Two stories stand in equal weight
Contradicting yet both real
Perfection can’t participate
Rose glasses forged with steel
My history, I know it well
Believe me now you must
This story of what once befell
Can my own memory I trust?
You ask again, a diff’rent phrase
To sort the truth from lies
But sifting through those sordid days
Is met with only sighs