Lies

Gold Honorable Mention March 17, 1997
ALIBI A LIE?
An alibi
can be a lie, or not.
If it’s not something
that you falsify, but something
you can verify, it’s not
and you can prove it
by-and-by.
If you’re accused of poaching partridge,
and cigar ashes are found
on the ground
by Sherlock Holmes who’s
on your case,
helping you
erase the threat of
impending disgrace,
of being called a noble liar when you say
you were in your club that day.
and your alibi falls through
when the new waiter doesn’t
remember you,
with Holmes
you won’t
lose face because
a trace of tobacco
ash is found and
recognized by Holmes,
shown to be
a commonplace
brand used by
rough types
from Lye
and not, as originally thought,
the kind you, the Earl of Y., buy.
Puff, puff,

(page 2, Southwood, continue stanza)
ALIBI A LIE?

you’d rather die
than tell a lie,
being a Dr. Watson
kind of guy.