A Visit From the Truth Police

Tags

Australian poet, Facebook fact checking, Formal poetry, poem, poetry, sonnet, Spenserian sonnet, Truth Police

𝐀 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞

A knock upon the door disturbs the peace:
“We know you’re in there sir, let us inside!
We are, perhaps you’ve guessed, the Truth Police,
And we have solid proof that you have lied.
A certain lie you posted has been spied
By our Fact-checkers — open up the door!
There is no place to run, no place to hide!
We have our orders to enforce the law,
And liars like you no way will we ignore!
Now let us in! You lying terrorist!”
(They bash the door down, throw me to the floor,
Put in the boot.) “Now we are really pissed!
We asked you nicely — you would not comply.
Now you’ll learn facts are fiction — that’s no lie.”

— D.N. O’Brien