The Biggest Lie by Gabrielle Kay

The Biggest Lie by Gabrielle Kay

Author: Maggie Devers August 13, 2025 Duration: 4:55

The Biggest Lie

Gabrielle Kay

The biggest lie you've been told
Is that the world doesn't need you
That no one needs you to understand
Or needs you to be understood
That the world doesn't need you to know everything or anything because it is completely indifferent to you and will continue spinning anyways
Because it does
Your world wants you to stand in your feet
Needs you to stand in your feet
Move in your shoes
In your body
With your brain and your mind
It's the way you think, interpret, and reverberate through the halls of time
It's what colors your world
What brings vibrancy to your life
They lied to you because their innocence wasn't valued
They lied to you because their world was built on cardboard legs
They lied to you because when they opened their eyes and saw you lying
there, glowing, in all gold
Envy was all they could see
They tried to steal it, they moved you and sat in your place then cursed the
brown lighting that wouldn't make them glow
They lied to you because they thought love was in the shine
They thought love was something you could sneak under your jacket and
walk out with before getting caught
They thought love was a dark secret reserved only for those slick enough to
steal it
What's not a lie is that
You are the most beautiful thing this world has ever seen
You are the most kind
You try so hard every day in every moment with every breath and way
more than every beat of your heart
You are strong
And you are capable of love
In fact, you love more than anything I've ever seen
Through the murky Mississippi to the salt to the sea
I've never seen love like that
I've never seen love so free
You are good
Good enough to sit with me
Good enough to say your name
You are good enough to cry
Good enough to claim your pain
You deserve to have it stop
You deserve to say THIS HURTS RIGHT HERE, NOW STOP
You are worthy of relief
You are joy
You are meant to glow
You are funny
You never speak too much
You have exceptional ideas and your heart's so soft it's tough
Your courage is big like a lion, which just means your heart
You are allowed to rip your prey apart,
Devour it, sit with your face covered in blood and still be the beautiful
majestic beast that you are
What if we all got that word wrong
What if beast only ever meant woman
What if she's the boogeyman
What if she's the cracken
What if she's godzilla
What if she is the beast
And they lied
And named her that so we would hunt her and poke her with hot iron rods
And chain her with iron shackles
Hoping
Hoping
Hoping
That as soon as that final ash would drop they could step into her light
That the light they burned up inside of her would somehow fall onto all of
them
It's all a lie
It's just murder and lies
So leave them there, with their thoughts
And KNOW
Just know
Know it all
Listen and feel it and know
Because you are right
And it was all a lie
You are the beast
You are the beauty
You are the best this world has to offer
And anything
Ever
That ever ever ever makes you feel like you're not
Is a lie

More from Gabrielle Kay ↓


You can listen to me read Gabrielle Kay’s poem, Different Spaces, over on Instagram @rembrandts.cure

Mentioned in this episode:

Write After: National Poetry Month with One Poem Only

Write After is a way to encourage poets to listen and write, and use National Poetry Month to highlight how listening to poetry makes us better poets. I know I write the best when I’m surrounded by beautiful poetry–it’s part of the reason I created this podcast, and I want to encourage others to share this practice. We'll get started in April. You can share to #WriteAfterOPO.

#WriteAfterOPO


Each day, One Poem Only offers a brief, deliberate pause. Hosted by Maggie Devers, this podcast is built on a simple, consistent premise: a single poem, read aloud, without analysis or introduction. It’s an audio space where the words themselves are the event, a performance meant to be absorbed in the few minutes it takes to hear it. The daily rhythm of the show creates a quiet ritual, a point of reflection woven into a busy life. You might hear a classic sonnet, a piece of modern free verse, or a work from a poet you’ve never encountered. The selection is varied, touching on themes from the natural world to the intricacies of human emotion, always leaving room for your own interpretation. The effect is cumulative; listening regularly becomes a subtle form of education in the sound and scope of poetry, and a small act of self-care. This isn't a lecture or a book club, but a performing art delivered directly to your ears. Maggie’s clear, thoughtful readings provide the only framework needed, allowing each poem to stand entirely on its own. The curtain falls, and the moment passes, but the podcast invites you to return tomorrow when a new piece takes center stage, offering another quiet moment, one poem only.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 355

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