Spilt Secrets

Shadows have been eavesdropping
on my dreams, sharing them everywhere,
so now all my ancestral ghosts
know my hopes and fears.

They have revealed the knots that burrowed
in my heart and made a nest there,
whispered unwritten poems and thoughts
that I wasn’t ready to share.

But, instead of wrestling coils of anxiety,
I’m humming to a muffled moon like I don’t care,
spilling secrets, drifting seeds of creativity
that will eventually land somewhere.

And that’s OK, because I know that migrating swallows
will take summer with them soon, and leaves will follow.

Kim M. Russell, 2nd September 2025

Image by Jack Deadman on Unsplash

On Tuesdays at the dVerse Poets Pub it’s Poetics, and this week we are writing about life’s lemons and lemonade making with Punam, who has shared some of the lemons life has given her recently, as well as extracts and poems by Meandering words, Diane Neilson, Douglas Malloch, Langston Hughes and Jodie Hollander.Punam would love to know how we deal with setbacks in life and asks us to share it in poetic form.

44 thoughts on “Spilt Secrets”

  6. There you go! Lately I’m feeling like my life’s many banana peels are a Punch and Judy show for my ancestral ghost. A hoot for the skeletons in the peanut gallery. And you’re right — who’s gonna mind my rhymes when I’m gone? I’ll just be in the crowd laughing at the next chucko who calls himself poet.

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  9. I particularly like: “And that’s OK, because I know that migrating swallows / will take summer with them soon, and leaves will follow.” I like the graceful way of stating that all things have their season.

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  11. Very relatable, Kim. I especially enjoyed ~

    ‘But, instead of wrestling coils of anxiety,I’m humming to a muffled moon like I don’t care,spilling secrets, drifting seeds of creativitythat will eventually land somewhere.’

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  15. Love your “Shadows”, Kim. Like me I have thoughts for writing but later in the day it’s in the shadows hiding. Makes one wish she/he had writtin things down.

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  17. A cracking poem Kim, especially –

    They have revealed the knots that burrowed
    in my heart and made a nest there,
    whispered unwritten poems and thoughts
    that I wasn’t ready to share.

    they do burrow so ❤️

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