Deceit

Do I deceive you,
Forgive me the habit
As deceit is the heart of
War which has been my area
Of study for over two thirds
Of a century and hard to
Separate from life even
In my comfy chair but
Deceit I believe is
Within the rules
Of the game
In both war
And love
Human
Nature being
Constant over
Fifty millennia or
Do give or take a few
Million years buried in our
Primitive hindbrain more
Sly clever and cunning
Than we care to claim
In these politically
Correct days of
Behavior more
Applicable to
Psychiatry
Dolls than
Humans
But to
Me
Deceit
Is only one
Part of human
Nature no worse
Than laughter or a
Smile we cannot help
One more facet of our
Nature which we share
With so many other
Mammalian close
Cousins in a less
Well concealed
Appearance.
At age three
I stand on a chair
By the broken cookie
Jar chocolate chip cookies
On the counter floor and
On my face solemnly
Denying any idea
Who broke the
Cookie jar as
Lying comes
Hard wired
In humans
Balanced
By a few
Virtues
Of the
Soul.
What a
Marvel is
Human nature
How dear we
Hold deceit.