Private Paradise Poem by L MILTON HANKINS

My soul is locked within my deepest thoughts
Behind this face that welcomes most unwelcomed foes.
I shall not trust my innermost secret thought-paths
To the warm, but unsolicited, glances you cast
My way. Neither shall I tell you what I most fear,
Nor what I might like about you should I later be
Enticed to care.First, you must allow me slowly
To come around, releasing my deeply-seated reserve
Of carefully protected secrets, so prudently stowed,
In my own time, so essential are they to who I am.

Then, and only then, will you penetrate the façade,
For I alone hold the keys to my private paradise locked
Away.And only then, will you know me completely
As you will already be, to your surprise, known to me.