That Secret That You Keep (In Texas) Poem by Stephanie Buchanan

The sun burns my eyes but I continue to stare
I watch the bridges I set on fire crumble one by one behind me
My cage is built and locked, except I stand on the outside yearning to be in
The soles of my feet are cracked, yet I refuse to kneel
My own ignorance cripples me
Blinded by the elusive myth of altruism

The echoes of lost loves haunt my soul
A sense of careless egocentrism lingers off my shores
My island is built from an unattainable ideology
Still, the solitude is stolen by his wisdom

His hands cover my eyes as the sand recedes back into my ocean of contradiction
My exposure is safe in his lap
I’m in love with his conviction
The colors he paints me with warm my skin and cover my body with hope

We lay together at the bottom of the graves we’ve dug
Paralyzed by our own aspirations
Our plights handed to us before our paths ever crossed
The rivers we swam in continue to flow, but we’ve dried off

He’s unlocked my cage and emerged from within
I’d nail myself to him like a cross if it would quiet his storm
Self realizations draw us to one another and push us away
The light he shines has uncovered a course home

He f*#ks with my honor and teases my hell