a secret life

...the secret life

begins early, is kept alive
by all that's unpopular

in you, all that you know

a Baptist, say, or some other

accountant would object to.

It becomes what you'd most protect

if the government said you can protect

one thing, all else is ours.

When you write late at night

it's like a small fire

in a clearing, it's what

radiates and what can hurt

if you get too close to it.

it's why your silence is a kind of truth.

Even when you speak to your best friend,

the one who'll never betray you,

you always leave out one thing;

a secret life is that important.

by stephen dunn