ninehillsRAMBLE in the JUNGLE
Labyrinth of Truth
By Wanaku Verdzekov · · Global
Tags: poem, truth, oligarchy, deceit
Finding truth in a labyrinth, winding and dark,
Where lying would-be oligarchs leave their mark.
They wear their masks, they play their roles,
In corridors twisted, where profit controls.
The line between public and private grows thin,
So blurred even blindness can feel where it's been.
In this fog of self-interest, deceit's woven tight,
Truth feels like myth, hidden far from the light.
The hunt for what's real is a witch-hunt, indeed,
In this psycho-social world where illusions breed.
Through shadows and smoke, through greed's endless climb,
Finding truth is a trial, a dance against time.
TM
— Wanaku Verdzekov
Reading & grammar
Reading level: Gr 10–12
Understand
- Who are the "would-be oligarchs" in the poem, and what do they wear?
- What line suggests that the difference between public and private interest has disappeared?
- Why is finding truth called "a dance against time"?
Grammar focus: extended metaphor. The poem builds one image across several lines: truth is hidden in a labyrinth, with "corridors twisted", "shadows and smoke". Keeping one image going like this is an extended metaphor.
Try it: Choose an abstract idea (fairness, hope, fear) and write four lines that develop it as one extended image.
Discuss: Is it harder to find the truth today, with so much information, than in the past? Argue your position.