Poem: Kept Secret

A message not to panic, that life gets easier as the years go by.

Kept Secret A secret I’m keeping     from all my young friends Something in which they’d find     damn little comfort, so sure that life is slipping     underfoot like sand It keeps getting so much better     all along the way Not the teachings of experience,     but more common stuff Friendships deepened,     not so badly cut by rivalry, the warmth that comes     from fires that no longer rage The giving of oneself to another     and needing no return Not a tired sigh, or last gasp     that sees things ending, but a deeper breath of loving     at long last well begun Knowing all the values      that finally showed themselves were in us then, are in us now,     will be there yet tomorrow

This poem is included in Jim Freeman's poetry collection THE SMELL OF TWEED AND TOBACCO available here in print or as an e-Book in your favorite formats.