We walk like we have secrets
And I don’t mean the innocent kind
That you share in loud whispers on telephones
Or behind curtains of tears at confessionals.

We walk like we have secrets
Written on postcards
Inside wooden chests we bury in stomach pits.
The secrets that have no sympathy for them
Even in context.
The ones we never want to meet
Attached to someone saying, “Me, too.”

We walk hurriedly to keep our shadows over them
Guarding them from even the light of our own glinting eyes.
We keep them from the forums of fiction
So that no one may guess at prose’s inspiration
And wonder at the abyss.
We shackle them in chains
That forge-gods envy.
We keep them from the windows of our face
Replacing them with facades and flashing
That keep the neighborhood happy
With familiarity.

We put one foot in front of the other
Watching the scenery change as distance remains
As constant as heartbeats.

There is no recognition of shared burdens.
We are all too careful.
We keep them sealed so that the seepwater
Will never taste of them.
Yet they still leak
Clouds that have the density of quagmires,
And pull at us with Jupiter gravity.
We build muscles of normalcy
Trudging through daily
Until no one could notice the burden.
Polishing calluses to match rib skin.


We walk like we have secrets
Because we don’t know what it looks like to walk without them.
The uncertain steps of childhood
Long lost to our memories.
We see the same shackled step
And envy the normalcy and clarity
That must propel them.
We dread the hand extended and the eye contact,
The taboo of acknowledgement
That smells like excavated grave soil,
And the tin echoes left ricocheting in distant chasms
With the sound of “I know”.

But you don’t.
You may hear the distant clink of mason jars
And wonder at the shifting sound of metal on metal.
You may even recognize the smell
And look to your hand to see if you caught a glimpse.
But you’ll never know.

We’ll never know.

Just keep walking.

I remember you, stranger!

First, this works the way it is.

You begin a lot of lines with "That" which may not be necessary.

Also, you come from we until you get to the end where you change to you. May not need to change but I noticed it right off.

This is a curiosity.

You do a flip flop between how we walk and how we hide how we walk and how we hide. I wonder what it would sound like if it was one journey of how we walk and then how we hide and then the reference to keep walking.

Good to see you around again, kind sir.

Thanks, Beverly!

Yeah - this one was a bit of a free write and had to see how it felt. This is exactly the kind of feedback I needed. Thanks much!

On a side note, I need to get more active around here again. I'll make it a resolution

-Jesster

Perfect in language, expression and execution! A powerful write with beauty, reality and truth in your words. Great progression, high concept, intelligent perspective. Much enjoyed! Loved it, actually.

Very interesting. I really like the concept and I look forward to the rewrite.

I agree with Theresa on this one, I like it as is
Really good one, but I must say I like" Brawlers Know" better.