THE SECRET

My dearest friend that you should hold

So close, so bitter an agony;

For fear your secret, being told,

Might break the bond twixt you and me.

Look at me, lift, and lift your eyes,

It breaks my heart to see your tears;

Do you think but an error could jeopardize

The friendship we've cherished through all these years?

Dear one, I love you even more,

For your sorrow fans my heart to share

The burden, that has to your core

Racked you to such black despair.

We are all of us human, every one;

And we all of us make mistakes -

But to pick up the pieces and try to go on

Takes a courage that worthier man makes.

Come; take my hand my cherished friend,

Lest my own heart you would break;

And the ghost that has haunted you, blackest fiend -

Bury him deep, for my sake.