Poem: "Spirit of Truth"
Here is the linkback perk for the February 4, 2014 Poetry Fishbowl. If you link to the fishbowl, make a comment and include the URL to reveal a verse of this poem. If you link on different services, you can get multiple verses.
This poem came out of the January 7, 2014 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from kelkyag and rix_scaedu. It also fills the "Truth serum, truth spells, and truth drugs" square in my 8-13-13 card for the Ladies Bingo fest.
All 19 verses have been posted. Linkers include: DW user Poetree_admin, janetmiles, technoshaman, Sylvaine, DW user Fuzzyred
Spirit of Truth
One morning when Shaeth and Trobby
had been driving Glenta's patience
off the end of the pier,
she hit upon the idea
of sending them out to gather herbs.
This bought several hours
of peace and quiet in which
Glenta and Eshne managed to
complete a number of candle lanterns
for lighting the temple.
Then Shaeth and Trobby came home
with an empty wine bottle, a full herb basket,
and entirely too much loose talk
for anyone's comfort.
"What in the world has gotten into them?"
Eshne whispered to Glenta
as they heaved the two lushes into bed.
"Ish the shpirit of truth!" Shaeth said,
waving the wine bottle
perilously close to Glenta's head.
"Give me that, you old fool," she said,
tugging it out of his slack grip.
Glenta sniffed at the bottle,
examined the remaining herbs,
and heaved a sigh.
"I am going to assume that you
did not make a truth potion on purpose."
"I jusht wanted to show Trobby
how to make shun wine," said Shaeth.
Trobby lolled on his pillow and added,
"He showed me, all right. Then the baker's wife
showed ush both her hot crossh buns!"
Eshne giggled. "That's bound to make
no end of trouble," she said.
"I expect we'll be baking our own bread
once the baker finds out about that."
"Oh, she's been filling her oven
with shomebody elshe's loaves for years,"
Shaeth said with a blithe wave of his hand.
"If he doesn't know by now, he's blind."
So it was left to Eshne to keep an eye
on the very drunk and far too truthful
God of Drunks and his priest,
while Glenta went off to find
Abredin the Herb Goddess
and ask for an antidote.
"You say they made this, by accident,
while trying to brew sun wine?"
Abredin asked as she examined the bottle
and a sampling of the gathered herbs.
"From what they said, yes,"
Glenta reported.
"Interesting," said Abredin. "A truth potion
typically takes a full cycle of the moon to brew.
I shall have to see if I can replicate this.
I will accept the information as payment."
She handed over a packet of bitter leaves
to reverse the effects of the truth wine.
Glenta went home and found Eshne
on her hands and knees,
scrubbing divine vomit off the floorboards
while Shaeth moaned in his bed.
"If he pukes on me one more time,
I'm going to kill him," Eshne swore.
"I don't care if he's immortal. I'll find a way."
"Here, you can make up the antidote
to give him," said Glenta,
trading the herbal packet for the brush.
"I can't imagine that he'll enjoy it.
I'll take over cleaning the floor."
Eventually Shaeth and Trobby
were relieved of their unnatural honesty --
over their considerable complaints,
just as Glenta had predicted --
and bundled back into bed
with a plate of dry toast.
"For a wise old woman,
you have some really dumb ideas,"
Eshne said to Glenta over supper.
"Sadly so," Glenta agreed,
lamenting the bizarre turn
that their day had taken.
"Then again ... you never know
when you might need to produce
a little unexpected truth."
This poem came out of the January 7, 2014 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from kelkyag and rix_scaedu. It also fills the "Truth serum, truth spells, and truth drugs" square in my 8-13-13 card for the Ladies Bingo fest.
All 19 verses have been posted. Linkers include: DW user Poetree_admin, janetmiles, technoshaman, Sylvaine, DW user Fuzzyred
Spirit of Truth
One morning when Shaeth and Trobby
had been driving Glenta's patience
off the end of the pier,
she hit upon the idea
of sending them out to gather herbs.
This bought several hours
of peace and quiet in which
Glenta and Eshne managed to
complete a number of candle lanterns
for lighting the temple.
Then Shaeth and Trobby came home
with an empty wine bottle, a full herb basket,
and entirely too much loose talk
for anyone's comfort.
"What in the world has gotten into them?"
Eshne whispered to Glenta
as they heaved the two lushes into bed.
"Ish the shpirit of truth!" Shaeth said,
waving the wine bottle
perilously close to Glenta's head.
"Give me that, you old fool," she said,
tugging it out of his slack grip.
Glenta sniffed at the bottle,
examined the remaining herbs,
and heaved a sigh.
"I am going to assume that you
did not make a truth potion on purpose."
"I jusht wanted to show Trobby
how to make shun wine," said Shaeth.
Trobby lolled on his pillow and added,
"He showed me, all right. Then the baker's wife
showed ush both her hot crossh buns!"
Eshne giggled. "That's bound to make
no end of trouble," she said.
"I expect we'll be baking our own bread
once the baker finds out about that."
"Oh, she's been filling her oven
with shomebody elshe's loaves for years,"
Shaeth said with a blithe wave of his hand.
"If he doesn't know by now, he's blind."
So it was left to Eshne to keep an eye
on the very drunk and far too truthful
God of Drunks and his priest,
while Glenta went off to find
Abredin the Herb Goddess
and ask for an antidote.
"You say they made this, by accident,
while trying to brew sun wine?"
Abredin asked as she examined the bottle
and a sampling of the gathered herbs.
"From what they said, yes,"
Glenta reported.
"Interesting," said Abredin. "A truth potion
typically takes a full cycle of the moon to brew.
I shall have to see if I can replicate this.
I will accept the information as payment."
She handed over a packet of bitter leaves
to reverse the effects of the truth wine.
Glenta went home and found Eshne
on her hands and knees,
scrubbing divine vomit off the floorboards
while Shaeth moaned in his bed.
"If he pukes on me one more time,
I'm going to kill him," Eshne swore.
"I don't care if he's immortal. I'll find a way."
"Here, you can make up the antidote
to give him," said Glenta,
trading the herbal packet for the brush.
"I can't imagine that he'll enjoy it.
I'll take over cleaning the floor."
Eventually Shaeth and Trobby
were relieved of their unnatural honesty --
over their considerable complaints,
just as Glenta had predicted --
and bundled back into bed
with a plate of dry toast.
"For a wise old woman,
you have some really dumb ideas,"
Eshne said to Glenta over supper.
"Sadly so," Glenta agreed,
lamenting the bizarre turn
that their day had taken.
"Then again ... you never know
when you might need to produce
a little unexpected truth."