A Few Strokes Away – Studio Tour
Silent Art Slide Shows
Original poem “Your Secret” by F. Magdalene Austin
As others greet you smiling
You look so pale, breath stalled and eyes to the floor.
Friends speak in a gentle tone hiding bitter memories
Pretending not to recall what you put your children through
Turning a blind eye to history, of wars you waged and swords you drew.
But they know.
They keep talking, keep smiling, but they know.
They know and you know
Your secret’s not safe with me.
The secrets will never be laid to rest.
I will scream about the cold, about the fear and pain.
I will show them the scares on my legs also the people behind my eyes
Allow them to witness me quiver,
Watch me shake when they say your name.
And tell them ever loudly I am not to blame.
At the grocery store, in theater halls with opera singers and ballerinas
In your brand new automobile on the way to a dream vacation your eyes will avert
Cloud over and fog with concern.
Does this man know, does that man understand you refused to control your hands?
Who have I spoken to? Whose attention have I gained?
Who now looks at you with eyes fully grasping your image.
The image of a woman capable of killing a child’s soul?
I told the world.
Your secret’s not safe with me.
When the family gathers for Sunday meetings in a house with walls that hold blood six generations thick,
When we dance in halls for charity events
Or raise hymns at congregation gatherings
You’ll go pale. Your breath will stall as your eyes fall to the depths of the floor
In hopes that I haven’t spoken the truth
That I’ve kept your secret
But I told the world.
You look so pale
You look so pale knowing your secret’s not safe with me.
Copyright 2017 © F. Magdalene Austin Sundrip.com
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From time to time I get an itch to make a new art slide show or video, when I do I will post more here.