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We Deceive Ourselves

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And the truth is not in us

Self-deception

In the liturgy, because of

Self-righteousness

A belief that we are right and

Good in all things

And that sins committed

Must have been done

By someone else

Or misunderstood

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But there’s another voice

A voice of conscience

The angel on the left shoulder

Pitted against the devil

On the right

(so go the cartoons)

Not subtle or complex

A voice that says

You’re wrong

Not like the critic’s voice

But prodding

In a way that

Doesn’t hurt so much

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Comes in waves

Not the correcting

But the minding

Like the waves we hear

When holding the shell

Next to our ears

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The truth is not in us

We deceive ourselves

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Can we fix this?

Not forever ‘til forever

Though there are mortal measures

If you ever went to Sabbath school

Or heard about goodness

Have read something

Watched something on TV

Or on-line

Without sending anything

(without expectation)

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Then you can write the next part

You may

(me, too)

Without deception

Or deception at a minimum

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C L Couch

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The cited part is from Christian Scripture (1 John 1:8) and the (Catholic, Protestant) service liturgy.

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Photo by Bernd Dittrich on Unsplash

Louvre – Tuileries, Paris, Frankreich

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