Poem: You May Not Be Unburdened

You May Not Be Unburdened

Before you speak
what you wish to
and tell me
of the secret
you wish to disclose,
I must explain
my own secret,
as it will change
what you must say,
because my secret
is the knowledge
that you have no secret,
only that my knowing
what you think
is your secret
has remained
my secret, but
it was not intended
that I should know
and I did not seek
to learn it, and stayed silent
because it was best
not to divulge
that I had gained knowledge
which might seem to violate you,
but now you want to speak
what you wished before
for me to not know,
and I must make clear
it was my secret,
for so long it has been
a secret I have carried.

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