ill-kept

Ill-kept secrets
struggling free of your tongue's
loosening grip,
because nothing unwraps itself,
seals can't break on their own
knots don't unravel
without your sharp, delicate fingers
to work and work at their fraying ends

Ill-kept secrets whispering like dry tossed leaves
in the barren wastes of your conscience' parched expanse

Ill-kept secrets leaving slick wet footprints
all over your face,
the sweet pithy taste of them still on your lips,
bright red stains of them blooming on your ears,
your cheeks,
like apples,
bright shining red apples cracking in your mouth,

deliciously.