Tell The Truth

Let me tell you a story,

A little bitty story,

About a boy

Who ConStantLy cried wolf—

Not to fool the village,

Not for coins or thrills,

But to hide from his own reflection,

To paper over the chills.

He'd shout of shadows breaking,

Of teeth that gleamed like fate,

And neighbors stopping by,

Just to say hello.

"There's nothing here," she'd promise,

As panic spread like rain—

He lied to them, and lied to them,

But mostly lied to pain,

Tell the truth, however big or small,

Let guilt and fear unweave;

Or else you’ll call your saviors once,

And none will come to grieve.

So if you ever hear him now,

His voice is soft and true:

"Forgive me for the stories,"

He says, "I forgive me too."

Each false alarm a curtain,

A soft, familiar mask;

Each echoed, empty siren

Reinforced the easier task.

Days folded into evenings,

Trust thinned like old thread,

Until a real howl rose one night—

A truth the town all dread.

They came with lanterns swinging,

They called until they found

No boy behind the hedges,

No wolf upon the ground.

He'd run and hid from daylight,

But daylight finds the lying heart;

The wolf was only silence,

And silence tore him apart.

Tell the truth, however big or small,

Let guilt and fear unweave;

Or else you’ll call your saviors once,

And none will come to grieve.

So if you ever hear him now,

His voice is soft and true:

"Forgive me for the stories,"

He says, "I forgive me too."

Alone against his mirrors,

The boy at last stood still—

The loudest cry he answered

Was the one inside his will.

He learned that false alarms will teach

A town to close its door;

Deceit's a shallow shelter—soon

It leaves you cold and poor.

For lying to the world is sharp,

But worst is self-betrayal—

The only cure is honesty,

A small, unwavering trail.

Tell the truth, however big or small,

Let guilt and fear unweave;

Or else you’ll call your saviors once,

And none will come to grieve.

So if you ever hear him now,

His voice is soft and true:

"Forgive me for the stories,"

He says, "I forgive me too."