Ballad of a Lying Man



Well listen up here mister, this is a tale ’bout how
The clouds got to be heavy
And the crowd as mad as now
When I was a young boy, a man fled with a bagful of lies
The crowd was busy drawing rainbows
Whilst children were learning to cry
The man made off to the market of sin, “What can I get for this, Sire?”
“A bagful of lies is twelve clouds of rain,
Or a forest full of fire”
 
He placed the rain into his bag to empty wicked from the skies
He began to brew dark clouds above
Whilst devising his loving disguise
Well the man couldn’t hold his guilt no more so visited one in the booth
‘Cos a laden feeling’s a real chore
But it’s never as heavy as truth
The man now felt as normal, no one but I knew a thing
The crowd were fetching currencies
Whilst children played Luther King
 
As I hid from the coming rain, there lied his bag beneath my chair
The man had visited my home before
And now the crowd knew where
For the orders had been given, sent down from booth man’s boss
“There’s a boy hiding in that shelter
And he has defied the teachings of the cross”
“Take him in for questioning”, the crowd’s righteousness spoke
“He knew that rain was coming
And the damp pouch he holds bespoke”
 
The clouds were now black above as rain began to pour
Only a trickle on the executioner’s face
As my head dropped to the floor
The crowd they roared with delight, rapturing away their rain
The children had begun to bite themselves
Whilst the man stood straight and sane
So I’ll let you go now mister, you now know the tale ’bout how
The clouds got to be heavy
And the crowd as mad as now

About this poem

This is an original poem written in 2021.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted by ezraburns on October 22, 2021

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:33 min read
12

Quick analysis:

Scheme aBAcxxded cxcfgfhxh igixdxxhh gxgexeaBA
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,588
Words 312
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 9, 9, 9, 9

Discuss the poem Ballad of a Lying Man with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Ballad of a Lying Man" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/112535/ballad-of-a-lying-man>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    4
    days
    23
    hours
    52
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who wrote the poem ״Invictus״?
    A Thomas Hardy
    B Sylvia Plath
    C William Ernest Henley
    D Oscar Wilde