100 responses to “Crumbling truths”

1. Dear Björn,

   I love “short wave promises.” A lot of feeling in this piece. I read it twice and I don’t regret it. Well done.

   Shalom,

   Rochelle

   • Thank you.. the picture was like a metaphor itself… for me I could only tell one story.

2. ‘Short wave promises’ and ‘Potemkin lies’… Clever write

   • Psychological warfare is like a manipulated two-way mirror.

     • Absolutely….

3. Beautifully told, the words moved me deeply.

   • Thank you.. too many have seen this, and see it yet again.

4. This is a fascinating poem. >

   • Thank you.. I have not decided if it’s a poem or a piece of prose.

     • It feels like poetic prose to me. 😉

5. It would not surprise me.

   I was just explaining to my students what the Cold War was, as it was over before most were born. Instead of an ICBM in everyones backyard, we now have laptops in every home.

   • With trolls and hackers in the secret service of the state.

6. The Cold War was interesting. It is supposedly over, but I think not. Certainly, we still have our spies in place. Maybe the enemy has shifted to another power, but the Cold War is still hot. A friend who recently spent several months in China as part of a travel group had some interesting observations and stories.

   • There is a truth behind every conspiracy, but also false conspiracies that are part of the war.

     • Yes, there is also the propaganda of lies. And what we are willing to believe because of the source from which they come.

7. Terrific piece of writing again, Bjorn.
   You keep getting better, deeper.

   In the 3rd line do you mean ‘she’, and not ‘you’?

   • Indeed.. it should be consistent… it should. Thank you so much.

     • Bjorn, please don’t focus on the typo, your story is great.

8. Brings back some not so good memories and reinforces some not so good realities.

   janet

   • Indeed.. the chilling part is to see it reappear…

9. Very interesting piece and very thoughtful .. I enjoyed it very much.

   • Thank you.. some things concerns me a lot.

     • As they should, I think many of us have the same concerns.

10. I love these:
    “the moon is a sickle in my blood”
    “and felt your hand slipping, leaving me for dreams”

    “And when we meet again I see, that we’ve been living on opposing sides of the same Potemkin town.
    I see its mortar crumbling, but still I look in vain for truth.”

    To me, the ending makes it sound like a marriage crumbling.

    • It could be, but I was seeing more the separation due to barrier’s and walls.. could very well be a marriage also…

11. Nature & big city life provide quite a bottomless pit of metaphors

    • It does.. that sharp contrast of opposites is like a well to drink from.

12. ‘The moon is a sickle in my blood’. Your way with words never ceases to amaze me.

    • Maybe it’s just because English is a second language… it’s an excuse to break the rules, but I think using unlikely combination of words is a great source of inspiration.

13. Powerful, and so many gripping turns of phrase! Since everyone else is pointing out their favorites, let me “vote” for ” living on opposing sides of the same Potemkin town” — wow, I just loved that.

    • It was actually the start of my idea… the concept of Potemkin villages was something I saw in that mural..

14. I could learn a lot from your writing. Very enjoyable story.

    • Thank you.. I just write caring about how it sounds… maybe it’s called poetry.

15. Wow, this felt very deep. Excellent, and a great take on the prompt.

    • I saw the mural as fulfilling the same purpose as a stage set or Potemkin Village, and that’s were I started with the story.

16. Afterwards the lies are crumbling. What a gorgeous line.

    • And very often true.

17. I love what you did with this photo. It’s an unusual one and your story’s tone reflects the unsettled feeling. Great job!

    • I saw the story immediately, and thought I would read a lot of them with false stage-sets etc,,, but maybe I’m wired differently.

      • Nah. I think you’re wired just right!

18. Wonderful. I’m so envious of your skill with words. 🙂 And you’re right, cold war comes back in another form… it’s convenient. It was convenient. Power where power belongs, or so some still think.

    • I think so to.. and it’s always easier to remain in power if you can make people believe that they are under threat.

19. Dear Bjorn,
    I’m with Rochelle on this one–so much packed into such a short piece. I read twice to pull more meaning from it. You’ve used some great language here.

    All my best,
    MG

    • Thank you, I like when texts have many layers in them.. 🙂

20. So much depth in this piece, although I feel certain that I am missing parts of it having not lived through that period / world. Except, as you say, we may be heading there again. Gorgeous phrases, as others have already said, and well worth a second reading.

    • Thank you.. the shortwave radio’s the Potemkin Villages, all that is coming back, but in Internet versions, and in the middle there are human’s separated.. that was my intention with the story.

21. This was brilliant writing Bjorn! Gorgeous phrases – oh, I just saw that Elmo wrote the same thing! Must be true then… I read it three times. Got me in the gut.

    • Thank you.. in the middle of those separating walls there are humans caught. Maybe afterward’s we will see this period of history as a brief interlude of openness.. sometimes I’m pessimistic.

      • Yes, let us believe it was a brief interlude of openness!

22. It seems the old way of doing things in the cold war has just gone underground and found new outlets. There will always be those who find ways to get power. There are also always those who will dream of a better way of life. Well done, Bjorn. 🙂

    • Let put our hopes to the dreams we thought were becoming reality.

23. Such a different perspective!
    I find it fascinating.

    • To me it was the obvious perspective, but I guess that’s the good thing about our prompt. We all find different things.

24. An excellent read Bjorn; you’re going from strength to strength.

    • Thank you, I’m learning by reading a lot of good writing, your’s included.

25. And so the war continues.
    Great atmosphere one could cut with a knife.

    • Alas the knife is used too often, just like guns and bombs.

26. Great mysterious feeling to this piece.

    • Thank you. 🙂

27. Your whole story reads like a beautiful, poignant poem, Björn! Exquisite and sorrowful story. This line got me: “I see its mortar crumbling, but still I look in vain for truth.”

    • I always try to take a poetic approach to prose.. sometimes it works.

28. Beautiful prose. Sets the scene and futility wonderfully.

    • When you are caught in the middle there are boundaries you cannot bridge.

29. Nice take on the prompt

    • Thank you..

30. Great feeling to this, the belief and dreams leading nowhere… looking for truth in vain… Well done.

    • I think we are often there .. captured by the lack of truth. of being told what we want to be told….

31. Great writing, you paint a very bleak picture. I loved “short-wave promises”.

    • A little like Korean Loudspeakers maybe..

      • Ha, yes.

32. I’m with KT. Looking for truth in vain really hit home with me. Excellent piece, Bjorn.

    • Thank you.. where should we find it, when we always have to consider why it’s written.

33. a post befitting the intriguing picture, great

    • Thank you.. the picture was like a metaphor itself

34. Oh, the Potemkin village…a wonderful, and sad, interpretation on the prompt!

    I hadn’t thought much about the Potemkin village in recent years till I saw “The Interview,” the film with James Franco about a TV show host’s interview with Kim Jong-il. James Franco’s character is driven through a North Korean “town” which looks prosperous, has a grocery store with luscious produce in the window, etc. Later, of course, he sees it up close, realizes it’s all a facade, and the luscious produce is just painted wood. Kim Jong-il objected to the movie so much that he threatened “9/11-like retaliation” if Sony released it to theaters. So…it’s only available via streaming services. It’s a pretty funny satire–if somewhat violent and laden with toilet humor😁 I still recommend it, though, if you haven’t already seen it.

    • The seascape was such an obvious stage-set so to me the parallel to Potemkin village became one Parallel… the short wave of course alludes to Voice of America… just like it could point to the South Korean loudspeakers.. either way you end up on dividing lines. If you get the chance to see Tannenbach about Germany after world war II it’s a very good TV-series…

35. Poetic and lyrical – a sad tale told with beautiful words.

    • Thank you.. I think when human beings are caught in the middle the powerstruggle can be a sharp blade.

36. Björn, your words are so lyrical and strong… admittedly, I feel like it flies over my head; but, I want to follow it just the same, it’s so wonderful! “Short wave promises” really packs a punch!

    • I think we might all live in a stage-set.. and we are manipulated.. much like during the cold war..

      • Scary thought, but true.

37. I don’t know quite what to say other that this is stunning. Thank you for sharing it.

    • Thank you 🙂

38. Wonderful, Bjorn. It’s so rich. I especially like the line, “felt your hand slipping, leaving me for dreams. For short-wave promises and for consistent beat of jazz.” Brilliant.

    • I think it’s the human story underneath that is the strongest, despite the effort of those with power.

39. A wonderfully engaging story, Bjorn – dense, lyrical, layered. I love it. The desire for and elusiveness of truth is a powerful thought on which to end.

    • Truth often eludes us …

40. So much in so few words…we could discuss this for pages and pages. Besides reading like poetic prose, the depth of this makes one wonder…you are not pessimistic to me but aware and intuitive.. it is the duty of writers and poets to help people learn…from our mistakes. Our writers and poets in Québec are part of our history. I think we are losing many with such depth. Beautiful write!!

    • Maybe we need a little depth sometimes… maybe by adding layers we can actually make it more visible.

      • It does make it also more palpable.

41. Your writing style is very attractive. Stunning. What is’ Potemkin lies’.

    • Potemkin Villages were stage set villages set up to make reality look better… and I thought of the mural as one of those.

      • Thanks. Very imaginative.

42. Quite portentous language from sickle in my blood, Potemkin town, mortar crumbling, and short wave promises. You managed to portray an entire era with its hopes fulfilled and dashed in a very few words. Memorable piece.

    • That was an era, and alas I think some of the walls are being rebuilt as we speak.

43. When one of the front runners for presidential nominations is wanting to get a wall built, well, it is just a matter of to whom are we turning our cold shoulder this time : ( Splendid word crafting.

    • Even worse when the wall can be used to prevent people from leaving… still remains in the cold war analogy.

44. The last line is a beauty.

    • Thank you 🙂

45. Lies – and mortar – crumbling. That seems to be the way of it, when truth goes missing. A tight, well structured and timely piece of flash fiction.

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