No Longer Mine Alone Poem by Eric Zinbabora Batung

Deep inside me,
In the most furtive yet subtle of places.
I held a secret; witty yet weighty.

Like we all do,
I held it close to my chest
And sealed behind my lips
Till it got sticky and leaky.

Like a caged bird it forced to flee.
It appealed to me from within and without
Till I felt its weight; heavy and hefty.

It was a combination of fact and fiction.
A blend of my own life's bumpy tracks,
And the cover that keeps it only within me.
After all we all get dusty and dirty and later patchy just to make up.

Here I stand in Judgment before you today
As I spread out my fingers and count two short of thirty.
Ready to blow the cover to my own secret.
Now I know that it is no longer mine alone to keep.
So I share it now with you.

The strength in my weakness,
The satisfaction in my disappointments,
The courage in my fear,
The endurance that keeps me going,
The reason I'm still here and alive,
Is nothing much more than a simple SMILE
Even when it hurts the most.

This SMILE was my secret.
And I SMILE for and to you all the time.
I share it now and again only with you.
You, to be mine forever.