“The Truth Will Come Out”
The Golden Girls, 1985
Tess Liem’s debut collection of poetry, Obits., was shortlisted for the 2019 Lambda Literary award. Her writing has appeared in Plenitude, The Puritan, Cosmonauts Avenue, and elsewhere. She lives in Montreal: Tio’tia:ke/Mooniyaang, unceded Haudenosaunee and Anishinabe territories.
i.
You travelled your heart
here
heavy
and outrageous
Look at this guilt
clutching the scene
Look at this
Ma, we can’t be moved
ii.
Of course the rumour is you know well
Ma, we were the subject
iii.
Secrets? No
a small remembrance
joy or pleasure
I hereby bequeath my diamond brooch my brief moment
No, not yet
Wait for the silk lace sequined statement
iv.
Granddaughter , listen
We have no secrets
Daughter
it’s more than that
Daughter ? She ought to be the evidence!
The more damning evidence
Here we are! This is home!
It’s just a will
Ma, please. It was true.
v.
I remember
coffee
Honey
Brussel sprouts
I should explain
perfectly
my sapphire necklace
the pearl earrings
the numbers
How it happened
vi.
Believe daughter
Never lie still!
A lie is a lie, which is business
vii.
Ma,
What’s the biggest lie you’ve ever told?
Complexion
viii.
Come on, Ma.
Your whole life is an open blouse
Ma,
you’re awake!
you’re awake!
Forgive yourself
ix.
Exhausted.
sleep.
liar.
liars.
x.
A lie is one tomorrow
granddaughter
But tomorrow,
no matter how much it might hurt all of us
sleep well, I’ll see you in the morning
I love you.
xi.
Whoever said Not now
here
I want you all to hear this.
I guess maybe I was afraid.
That’s the big secret.
And isn’t it amazing
You’re not at the bottom of a lake.
Pour citer cette page
Tess Liem, « “The Truth Will Come Out”. The Golden Girls, 1985 », MuseMedusa, no 7, 2019, <> (Page consultée le setlocale (LC_TIME, "fr_CA.UTF-8"); print strftime ( "%d %B %Y"); ?>).
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