gray lines in poetry

Fiction can tell us truths
in the places where mere fact
finds itself afraid to tread.
But only as long as fiction
acknowledges itself upfront.
When fiction breaks that trust
it becomes even worse than a lie.
It becomes that monster “politics”.
Fiction knows both the rules
and when it’s okay to break them
by learning the rules of fact first
but when fiction feigns fact
it just ends the worst.
The worst of both worlds.