My first and favorite poem, it came out quickly and spontaneously as I was waiting for a business client to arrive.
It describes the yearning for transparency that the three-month resident fellowship at Cold Mountain Institute had generated.
At first I had it arranged as prose and then realized it was a poem.
There’s something I haven’t told you about me.
It’s a piece of me I keep locked up inside.
I’ve chosen not to be that part of me.
I’ve hidden from you and lied about who I am.
I’m not available to you then.
Neither am I available to me.
So sharing with you the part of me I hide
Means I show up here. I arrive. I’m on the scene.
I want to be myself with you,
Let down my guard, relax
So you can know me deeply, truly as I am.
My hands begin to shake at just the thought of it.
Everything dear looms up to be let go of once again.
I want you to know me deeply, truly as I am.
I’m prepared to lose it all, if lose I must.
Help me. Love me. Right now I need your helping hand
To stand before you here and tell you who I am.