Truth Modern

Dear Reader,

                                                                               Patterns from a Kaleidoscope


When I was about eight I was given a kaleidoscope for my birthday and it was my prize possession.  It was quite my favourite toy.  I loved looking at the wonderful shapes and patterns it made just by shaking it, and I remember taking it to bed with me so that my sister couldn't borrow it.

Kaleidoscopes were invented in 1816 by a Scot, Sir David Brewster.  An inventor, he was studying many aspects of physical sciences, including polarization optics and the properties of light.  He named the new invention after the Greek words meaning: beautiful form watcher.  He discovered that attractive and pretty symmetrical patterns were made when loose pieces of glass and other objects were reflected by mirrors, in a tube-like instrument which resembles a telescope.  Following its invention, the kaleidoscope grew in popularity in Western Europe and became a favourite toy for children, but also an entertainment for adults taking part in parlour games, one of them being charades.

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Truth Modern

Through a kaleidoscope
shifting bright colours,
set close to the eye,
the viewer's truth reflected,
assuring the mind of its veracity,
acknowledging its fantasies
as realities,
seeing truth
not as it is, but as we would
like it to be,
spinning words,
detaching truth from its moorings,
setting it loose in murky waters.
Illusions of truth
sandwiched between lies
is the authentic truth
of our times.

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With best wishes,  Patricia