NEVER TELL IT ALL

Never tell it all
Like it really was,
You’ve no idea
Who'll be listening—

You’ll have to contend
With derision, laughter;
You'll have to contend
With incomprehension and hate.

Worse, you’ll see then
What you say taken
And twisted in ways
You never dreamt of.

Never tell it all,
There’s pride involved—
Do you want to say
Where you were?

Do you want to say
What you thought?
What you really took
To that secret place?

Do you want to tell
The why and the wherefore,
The needs you had,
The great solace granted?

Never tell it all
Like it really was,
You may not understand
The half of it yourself.