Deep inside me, <br />In the most furtive yet subtle of places. <br />I held a secret; witty yet weighty. <br /> <br />Like we all do, <br />I held it close to my chest <br />And sealed behind my lips <br />Till it got sticky and leaky. <br /> <br />Like a caged bird it forced to flee. <br />It appealed to me from within and without <br />Till I felt its weight; heavy and hefty. <br /> <br />It was a combination of fact and fiction. <br />A blend of my own life's bumpy tracks, <br />And the cover that keeps it only within me. <br />After all we all get dusty and dirty and later patchy just to make up. <br /> <br />Here I stand in Judgment before you today <br />As I spread out my fingers and count two short of thirty. <br />Ready to blow the cover to my own secret. <br />Now I know that it is no longer mine alone to keep. <br />So I share it now with you. <br /> <br />The strength in my weakness, <br />The satisfaction in my disappointments, <br />The courage in my fear, <br />The endurance that keeps me going, <br />The reason I'm still here and alive, <br />Is nothing much more than a simple SMILE <br />Even when it hurts the most. <br /> <br />This SMILE was my secret. <br />And I SMILE for and to you all the time. <br />I share it now and again only with you. <br />You, to be mine forever.<br /><br />Eric Zinbabora Batung<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/no-longer-mine-alone/
