A new poem in my February series of epistles. Out of respect for privacy, I am not mentioning the subject of this one.

You really are something of a mystery
Nobody knows what goes on inside your head

So many secrets and unanswered questions
and things hiding in the shadows

I didn’t ask about the past
the thought never crossed my mind

Truthfully, part of me was afraid
of mood swings and silences that stung

So many secrets and unanswered questions
brooding behind closed doors

The sketchiest of details emerged in time
but only a fragment or two—and always in passing

So many secrets and unanswered questions
hiding behind anecdotes and old LPs

What little I’ve learned involves bravery and hardship
There’s so much more than you’ve ever let on

But I’ve never asked you directly about these things
I figure you’ll tell me if you want me to know

Those many secrets and unanswered questions
are still there, as far as you know

I’m grown up now, with secrets of my own
hidden behind scars and wounds unseen

So many secrets and unanswered questions
I think I know where I got that from

(3 February 2016)