Within my mind I know that tricks may lie
To catch me unaware with my belief
To be more self-aware I always try
To know when I’d cause happiness or grief
And yet when I feel fear I often find
I shrink before a truth so coldly shown
It seems I make some choice to err as blind
To keep such deep disturbance still unknown
Is it the truth that all of us will hide
From evidence that pinches at our pride?
We re-arrange such truths that we would see
And so from self-delusion can’t be free?
(c) Helen Valentina 2013, All Rights Reserved
helenvalentina 
I love the line that says “I shrink before a truth so coldly shown” it sent shivers down my spine!
Thank you so much! 🙂 🙂
You pose an interesting question there at the end. Can we be free of delusions? I wonder if we could actually use delusions on ourselves to be greater or accomplish great things. Such as in the case of Don Quixote. If you want to be a knight, act like a knight. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to have a few delusions?
Interesting thought – it could be that delusions are positive forces in some respects, even that they move something from illusion to reality over time. That’s a great idea for a different poem theme, so thank you!! 🙂
This poem’s theme is based on some reading in psychology I’ve done over recent years that show how the pre-conscious works – if information/stimuli is sufficiently anxiety provoking it can literally not move from the pre conscious to the conscious mind, so you literally don’t see what’s right in front of you, so to speak. I’m no expert on this but if this is true the problem is that you wouldn’t know you were doing it – by definition you couldn’t because you wouldn’t see it consciously – only objective observers would see it. Quite a scary thought really. 🙂
I would say it is true. I think it can be identified though. It’s like having a friend in a bad relationship, you can see that it is bad but they don’t (this is tricky though because as an outside observer you don’t have all the details but imo no excuse for an abusive relationship ever, that is just wrong… I’m getting side tracked).
Anyway good stuff! You obviously put a lot of research and thought into your work and it shows. Makes me just a tad jealous, lol. 😀
It isn’t so much research, it’s just eclectic reading tastes, and some of the stuff sticks with me and later turns into a poem, LOL. 🙂 🙂
Really wonderful sonnet. Sometimes we need delusion for self-protection, but given time hopefully we can safely see through it.
Very true! Thanks so much for commenting! 🙂
Good point. Nice delivery.
Thanks so much!! 🙂
Excellent. We all shrink from such truth when it is first presented.
Thank you so much!! 🙂 🙂
Perfect. The mind is a powerful thing and able to compensate for the lack of education. It deceives those too naive to know better and they become those who we call the ignorant.
On the other hand, the mind can do the same thing to the educated. Deceive them into believing they’re better than the rest. In so doing create a misdirected passion for destruction.
Ha! There’s your four years of college right there! LOL
Four years of college well spent my friend – that’s a perfect distillation of the quandary and how it ubiquitous it is! Thanks for commenting!! 🙂
Loved this…..signed a delusional soul. 🙂
LO, thanks…I thik the message of the poem is that we are all trapped, to some extent, in delusion. May as well make the most of it,eh? 🙂 🙂