Lies by Martha Collins

Martha Collins is an American poet born im 1940 in Omaha, Nebraska. She received degrees from Stanford University and the University of Iowa. She taught at both the University of Massachusetts Boston and Oberlin College.

Lies

Anyone can get it wrong, laying low
when she ought to lie, but is it a lie
for her to say she laid him when we know
he wouldn’t lie still long enough to let
her do it? A good lay is not a song,
not anymore; a good lie is something
else: lyrics, lines, what if you say dear sister
when you have no sister, what if you say guns
when you saw no guns, though you know
they’re there? She laid down her arms; she lay
down, her arms by her sides. If we don’t know,
do we lie if we say? If we don’t say, do we lie
down on the job? To arms! in any case,
dear friends. If we must lie, let’s not lie around.

Analysis:

In the poem "Lies" by Martha Collins, the author uses word play and diction to express her belief that it is better to tell the truth than lie. Throughout the poem Collins uses three different versions of the word lie to tell the story of an affair between a man and a woman. She uses it to mean a false statement, sex, and to be at rest. For example in the passage, "but is it a lie/ for her to say she laid him when we know/ he wouldn’t lie still long enough to let/ her do it," the first "lie" means to fib, the second "laid" refers to sex, and the final "lie" refers to a man resting in a horizontal position. This word choice creates confusion for the reader. Collins creates this confusion purposely to represent the confusion caused by all the lies and secrets surrounding the affair.  Collin's also questions what is considered a lie when she says, "If we don’t know,/ do we lie if we say? If we don’t say, do we lie/ down on the job?" she is asking if extending the truth or omitting the truth is classified lying. These questions add the confusion that surrounds lies and contributes to the overall message that it is better to just tell the truth.