Truth Hurts (a lai poem)

Nancy’s, Lai “Singed” challenged me to try the form myself. I’d never written a Lai before, but her poem inspired this first attempt — a small reply shaped from her spark.
Nancy: Singed – The Elephant’s Trunk


A traditional lai is a short French poetic form built on a pattern of nine lines, arranged in three stanzas. Each stanza follows this structure:

  • Lines 1–2: 5 syllables, same end rhyme
  • Line 3: 2 syllables, repeated refrain
  • Lines 4–5: 5 syllables, same end rhyme
  • Line 6: 2 syllables, repeated refrain
  • Lines 7–8: 5 syllables, same end rhyme
  • Line 9: 2 syllables, repeated refrain

The rhyme scheme is: a a b / a a b / a a b

The refrain (“truth hurts”) repeats at the end of each stanza, giving the lai its heartbeat.

And for Sadje’s WDYS >> What do you see # 347- 29 June, 2026 – Keep it alive





Truth Hurts (a lai poem)


I’m an awkward dill
with a broken quill —
truth hurts.

I don’t swallow krill,
nor kill for the thrill —
truth hurts.

I can’t light the grill,
my flame has no will —
truth hurts.





From fog to fire – a quiet truth above, a wild awakening below





Ivor Steven ©  June 2026

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ivor20

G'day, and welcome to my blog site. My name is Ivor Steven, I live in Geelong, Australia. I'm an ex-industrial chemist, and a retired plumber, and a former Carer of my wife(Carole), for 30 years, who suffered from severe MS. I Write poetry about those personal thoughts, throughout and beyond my life as a Carer. I've been blogging for over 2 years, and writing poems for 19 years. Of course a lot of my poems are about my favourite subject Carole, but since I've been blogging my writings have become quite varied, humourous, mystical, observational, and even a few monster/horror poems.

31 thoughts on “Truth Hurts (a lai poem)”

    2. I visited your site to read your Singed poem and to leave a LIKE…but WP wouldn’t let me leave a like! 😮 ??? So, please know I enjoyed reading your poem! 🙂 There is great emotion in it, for me. We Human-Beans are often moth-like.
      (((HUGS))) and ❤️❤️❤️,
      Carolyn 🙂

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

      1. Sorry for the inconvenience, Carolyn. I’ve given up trying to understand or explain what makes WP tick! I’m delighted to know you enjoyed my lai poem; that was such an interesting and fun poetry form to work with! Thank you for taking the time to reach out and leave such a lovely comment here. That means a great deal to me. You are most kind. 🥰

        Liked by 3 people

  10. Despite how truth may hurt us, we must all, live with them eventually, we can’t keep on trying to esape the truth, otherwise, we’d be on the run our whole, lives, and we won’t have anything to show for it when we die!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  14. Pingback: WDYS # 347- A roundup post – Keep it alive

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