Secrets
Some stories are like secrets
that we gave up for adoption
We want to claim our children
but have forfeited the right
So we wait to be asked
by those who want to know
We hope for reunion
and to feel complete
Some stories are like the iris
that I discovered as a girl
growing by an abandoned house
that we all thought was haunted
Exotic like an orchid
that didn’t belong
I only ever picked dandelions
for my mother
Some stories are like card games
and you’re holding someone’s ace
You want to give it back
but not be seen
You want to even the score
but not at the expense of another
You want the royal flush
not the bluff
of being loved
______Colleen Redman / Poets United / Imaginary Garden with Real Toads
Post notes: “Secrets” is part of Packing a Suitcase fore the Afterlife, a 34 poem collection that probes the questions: ‘How much does the essence of one’s psyche weigh? Is the soul the one carry-on that we can actually take with us? In the end, what do we value and what do we leave behind?’ The book is being published by Finishing Line Press and can be pre-ordered HERE.
May 21st, 2017 9:43 am
Congratulations on your book, Colleen. Such a great Title!
May 21st, 2017 9:49 am
This is AWESOME. I especially like the first, third, and sixth stanzas.
May 21st, 2017 9:56 am
Congratulations on your book!! Love the iris vs dandelions in this poem.
May 21st, 2017 11:01 am
I like what you say about secrets!
May 21st, 2017 11:20 am
This: “You want the royal flush
not the bluff
of being loved”–is stunningly brilliant–really witty and poignant.
May 21st, 2017 12:16 pm
I really love the tightness of the three metaphors… they span so much of what a story can be. I think the first one touched me most… (maybe there are too many secrets around)
May 21st, 2017 1:28 pm
So many family secrets are “given up for adoption” and lost in the pages of time … unless some descendent ferrets them out when climbing the family tree! I loved your poem.
May 21st, 2017 2:22 pm
Congratulations on your book, Colleen!❤️
May 21st, 2017 7:44 pm
That was right up there… with great reading.
ZQ
May 21st, 2017 9:18 pm
Lovely. Great thoughts about secrets. Congratulations on your book.
May 22nd, 2017 1:40 am
Wowsers! Great news about your book! I popped in here after a long time away. I love to read and write poetry. This is poignant poem that, ironically, is in line with the main motivation for my blog. (SoulCrayons is no longer at the address in your blogroll. I am sending you an invitation.)
Another time soon, I will be back to read more!
May 22nd, 2017 2:34 am
I loved how you ended the poem with “Not the bluff of being loved” implying that love is but a game. Excellent poem!
May 23rd, 2017 6:17 am
Wonderful metaphors contrasting the kinds of stories that occur in families. It will surely be a wonderful book.
May 23rd, 2017 9:59 am
Yeah, the last stanza blew me away! And what’s this I hear about your book? Where is the link to it?
May 23rd, 2017 11:16 am
Timoteo, the link is in the post note and now here:https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/packing-a-suitcase-for-the-afterlife-by-colleen-redman/
May 23rd, 2017 12:33 pm
I love the comparison of stories to secrets, that we wish to be asked about, and the reference to blooms picked as a girl. Very lovely.
May 23rd, 2017 1:48 pm
This is beautiful, very tenderly written.
May 23rd, 2017 7:40 pm
I love this poem! Congrats on the book !
May 23rd, 2017 7:57 pm
Ahh, really strong poem, I like it a lot. Makes me think, always a good thing. Congratulations on your book!
May 24th, 2017 2:56 am
Congratulations on your book! I agree with that opening stanza, stories and poems alike, we do give them up for adoption.
I love the stanza about the iris:
‘Exotic like an orchid
that didn’t belong
I only ever picked dandelions
for my mother’.
May 24th, 2017 8:08 am
Congratulation, on the book, Colleen. The stanzas, 1,2 and the last one, really speak to me, on my life journey. Sadly, not sure, I will ever make the last stanza, a reality, with my family. Not for the lack of trying, on my part.
May 25th, 2017 12:24 am
[…] therisa on Secrets […]
May 28th, 2017 8:40 am
Very Well done. Throughly enjoyed…bkm