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Poem written for and submitted to “A Secret Kept” poetry contest, John Lawless, sponsor, November 11, 2025.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cedar fragrance floats softly in the air like old ghosts awakening after sleep. Inside, yellowed envelopes carry the silent burden of hands that never delivered their confessions. A brittle map traces borders that dissolved with the century's breath. In the probing moonlight, tarnished brass hinges moan. Beneath folded sweaters, apologies fossilize, and grief settles like dust on unworn wedding lace. A sapphire brooch recalls the heartbeat under a collarbone where it pinned courage tight until surrendering. Trapped light holds what daylight wouldn't understand. Within attic walls the lid groans echoing how memory bends under its own weight. Secrets don't suffocate here~ they become the wood's grain.
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