Best Kept Secret

by John Herlihy

We all have a secret,

Lived with as a friend.

Lying there within me,

To remain until the end.

The secret behind a mask,

No one else ever to tell.

Silent if anyone should ask,

Never to ring as a bell.

A secret has no voice,

Never heard, no one to care.

Always hidden, never to rejoice,

None of its true value to spare.

The secret spoken as a whisper,

Only in the inner sanctum heard

Always sequestered, a drifter,

Flying as a lone, solitary bird,

The one true secret will itself keep,

Not uttering a word, not even a peep.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Thursday 12 June 2025