Anatomy of a Lie

It started benignly enough.
Blindsided by the betrayal of someone you trusted,
You chose denial instead of confrontation.
You chose what seemed to be the easy way out,
The way to protect your status quo.

So you lied to shift the blame for your hurt.
And then, as always happens,  questions arose,
That necessitated more lies
To validate the one before.
And things escalated.

More and more innocent bystanders,
Were sucked into your vortex of lies.
Relationships were ruined.
Lives were devastated.
The carnage was too much to bear.

So you drew yourself into yourself.
You shut out that unbearable reality.
To shield your own psyche,
Your lies became your truth.
And you became, in your mind, the victim.

Now you sit alone and lonely.
Blaming everyone but yourself.
Nursing your self-inflicted hurts.
Railing against the injustice of it all.
Refusing to accept your "truth" began with a lie.