Epithets and Sobriquets

there has been a trace of controversy over this poem, so let me clarify. it is about how people say one thing to you, and another to others. I hadn't really thought much about that until a few years ago, when I discovered that a woman I had been involved with, had sacrificed much for, was telling blatant lies about me in an attempt to garner sympathy ahead of our breakup. it was emotionally brutal, realizing that perhaps worse that someone lying to you is when they lie about you.

Epithets and sobriquets.
So many I have carried,
Like a married woman's name,
Reshaped to drape a new image
When the old one was fine.
I would love to know the words
And tone of voice you use
When you choose to speak of me.


William F. DeVault. all rights reserved.