Secret

There’s a secret
hidden deep within my heart
in the dark of my mind
in a bottle or carven on the wall.
It is safe from the ravages of time.
eating away but never
eaten away.

There is a secret
a longing, a desire, an impulse.
Locked in a silent grapple with
time and love and the last tendrils
of childhood.

But in the night,
when dreams come out
from the bookshelves and scrapbooks
and memories long forgotten,
I dream wide awake.

A warm breath. Almost a kiss.
Words. caressing my weary
and confused heart, drawing me to
a different kind of desire.

You are my secret. My future. My past.
and my greatest fear.