Your secrets

There is silence

even in your words

Bear no witness

to what can’t be heard

I know there’s more to you

than what you show

but that story

isn’t one we know

As a young boy

rooted in thin soil

As a young boy

feeling the recoil

of every shot misfired

at the ghosts

that were haunting

those you needed most

The measure of a man

to keep that bleeding heart a dirty secret

You keep them to yourself

your secrets

Carry visions

of a better life

so your children 

won’t inherit strife

You know the only way out

is ahead

And the burden

yours until you’re dead

The measure of a man

to keep that bleeding heart a dirty secret

Just keep them to yourself

your secrets

Back when men were men

Every hidden weakness withered the bone

Back when men were men

they died alone

The measure of a man

to keep that bleeding heart a dirty secret

Just keep them to yourself

your secrets