inspired by the New York Times

the truth is,
a colon mark, typing bar blinking, air, impossible to define, so subjective that it almost contradicts itself
what is the truth?
the truth is false sometimes
according to my editor the truth has to be corroborated by at least three sources, has to be consistent, must be phrased correctly, must include all the details
the truth is, in essence, a dance.
sometimes a fiery tango on the thin line between the objective and the opinionated, most times a deliberate two-step into the persuasive bounds of thinly-veiled propaganda
rarely two feet planted firmly in place on the unbiased.
the truth lies in the redacted, often found in the unseen, in the unsaid, takes some reading between the lines sometimes
says Trump has nothing to hide but won’t release the tax returns, says Mueller’s probe completely exonerates the president but keeps the report in a tight fist,
says Saudi Arabia doesn’t know what happened to Khashoggi,
says there isn’t a migrant crisis at the border
says white supremacists are decent human beings
lies to a country in 140 characters or less
says it can’t cross party lines, can’t be universally recognized, agreed upon,
perhaps the truth is a universal disagreement.
the truth is under attack.
there’s an old saying.
don’t kill the messenger, and if you want to go literary, you can shoot all the blue jays you want but it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.
the truth looks like Jamal, looks like the Capital Gazette, looks like Charlie Hebdo,
looks like the blood of the messenger has become synonymous with newspaper ink,
looks like it can all end in a headline,
looks like the messengers have become soldiers with pen paper camera breaking news write it record it break the story at all costs
weapons
the truth is resilient,
says you shall make no law concerning the freedom of speech, or of the press
says democracy dies in darkness
says je suis charlie,
says we are putting out a damn paper tomorrow,
says,
the truth is worth it.