Bridge of Lies

He thought she was a sucker,
a con man’s dream,
taken in by promises
of Italian ice cream,
a bottle of prosecco
and a gondola ride
under the Rialto
and the Bridge of Sighs.
But she had built
her own bridge of lies;
an experienced hustler
with a scam of her own,
she took all his money,
his cars and his home.

Kim M. Russell, 2017

venice-bridge-sigh_2071424b

Image found on http://www.telegraph.co.uk

My response to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads Get Listed – April Ain’t Fooling edition

Grapeling is hosting and has introduced me to two characters, Arthur Furguson and George C. Parker, and a phrase I hadn’t heard of until today: “if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you.”  Grapeling tells us that Parker was, if not the original con man, one of its more successful operators, having sold the Brooklyn Bridge, General Grant’s Tomb, and The Statue of Liberty, among other properties, while Furguson was merely a Scottish actor who regularly sold the White House.

She has given us a word list from which to take at least 3 words (or variants) and use them to craft a new poem:

bridge, con, lie, tomb, scam, gullible, fraud, president, hustler, sucker, mark, prison 

30 thoughts on “Bridge of Lies”

      4. That’s Lawrence – he’s a bus driver in South London now. My husband wrote the songs and sang. He was once called the ugliest man in rock by Kerrang (I think it was Kerrang but it might have been one of the other music magazines). He’s not ugly at all, he just doesn’t like getting all dressed up!

        Liked by 1 person

      8. I did! I’ve checked the scheduled post and it seems to be OK. I think I’ll message Grace and ask her to check it again.Thanks!

        Like

  8. a cool pen, Kim. Reminds me of that Michael Caine / Steve Martin film from a few years ago, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. thanks for adding your pen . (And not that gender matters, but I’m a he, not she …) ~

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. I like the Freudian slip, Rosemary! Lots of treason going on, even with some of the prisoners who crossed the Bridge of Sighs!

        Like

Leave a reply to kim881 Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.