write about the truth, they say

write about the truth, 
they say
write enough words to fill the lines 
but not so much that they'll fill the entire page.
create slogans, 
use three syllable words, 
call the white man a hero 
and maybe he’ll pick up the page.

write about the truth, 
they say
lies fill mainstream media, 
unblurred images of flesh fill our phones, 
the truth never makes it to the headlines
the truth lies in white turned red shawls 
on the corner of a road 
because a land of ripe olive trees is now a, 
cemetery turned cemetery now turned 
multiple cemeteries on top of cemeteries.

write about the truth, 
they say
the truths lie in the eyes of the children 
who have watched the warplanes watch them
the truth lies in the fathers that dig thru wrangled wires 
bare hands, barefoot, bear truths that lie within the soil 
of the chosen land within the 
palms of the chosen people 
ripe with a mother's blood and love, 

write about the truth, 
they say.