By Alinda Able

Love often begins with trust. However, when affection is mixed with dishonesty, even the sweetest promises can leave lasting wounds.

In Deception in Love, Alinda Able explores the anger and disappointment that follow romantic betrayal. Through images of fire, smoke, empty promises and hidden wounds, the poem questions what happens to a sincere heart when the love it receives is built on deception.

I carry an anger
That grows louder every night,
A fire in my chest that refuses to sleep.

They told me,
“There is no love without a little lie.”
But a little lie is like a little smoke;
Soon it burns the whole house.

They came with sweet words,
Yet not all that glitters is gold.
They brought me love in their hands,
But their hearts were somewhere else.

They promised me the river,
Yet gave me a dry cup.
They say I am the only one,
But the heart knows—I might be the tenth.

Oh, who will teach my fresh heart
How to dance with lies?
Who will teach me how to smile
When the heart is crying inside?

Like they say, you cannot cover a wound with a smile,
And a shallow love leaves a deep scar.
This anger now holds my breath.
My fresh heart is tired of being a lesson.

Why build a castle of lies
For a heart that only asked for truth?

— Alinda Able