Sixty Years of Secrets

I never realised
How many secrets
We all hold.

At what age
Did you start
Keeping secrets
From your mother?

My first
Was hiding a silk flower
Under my cot.
Stolen from long gone brothers,
Selling flowers for the Blind.
Barely two,
But I knew
I had sinned.
"Thou Shalt Not Steal"
Still screaming in my mind.
I can still feel
The prickle of guilt
As I visualise
The little pink flower
With tiny, yellow stamens
Made from blobs of paint.
A thing of wondrous beauty
To a toddler.

And now
I have
Sixty years of secrets.
The more I probe,
The more pop up.
Most are merry memories.
Some are harsh and hurtful
Both my brothers' deaths
Stained black in my mind,
But when I think of Pops,
Fresh pools of love
Overflow.
I always smile
Remembering
The happiness
He gave me.

I have outlived
Them all
And my secrets
Are safe.
Mother will never know!



Poetry by Esti D-G The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 389 times
star mini Editors' choice
Written on 2021-02-27 at 12:58

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Griffonner The PoetBay support member heart!
Wow! Isn't this a gem of truth? I love this, it is so well thought out and constructed. Another empathetic poem from your pen, that rings a bell way back in the core of me: Unfortunately my 'initial' secret was so long ago I cannot date it... and like you I heard a loud voice (of conscience?) ... or just maybe intuition. As the saying goes, 'we live and learn'... it is all part of 'the process'.
Thank you for sharing.
Allen
2022-07-18


Editorial Team The PoetBay support member heart!
Your poem has been chosen to be featured on the home page of PoetBay. Thank you for posting on our poetry website!
2021-03-02


one trick pony The PoetBay support member heart!
This very definitely strikes a chord with me, both the secrets and the surviving.
2021-02-28



An enthralling poem, beautifully exposited.
2021-02-27