Behind Closed Doors

There are parts of your house that I have already become familiar with,

and there are parts of it that I haven’t explored yet

when you took me on a house tour several months ago.

1. You didn’t tell me about the attic,

where I bruised myself after stumbling over a trunk

full of old photos, mildewed letters,

and bundles of memories from your past.

If I didn’t take them out to dust off the dirt, I never would have known.

2. You didn’t tell me about the stuck windows that wouldn’t budge

no matter how much I tried to pry them open.

It was too stubborn and too set in its ways.

Somehow, I got tired of pushing and pulling the glass,

but I’ll try to open them again someday and let the fresh air in.

3. You didn’t tell me about the rooms that I am forbidden to enter

nor even allowed to ask what’s inside.

But I can wait. I will wait until you take out the keys and turn the knobs,

your secrets bounding out of the doors you’ve never opened to anyone;

those doors you’ve kept closed for years.

Photo by Chris Barbalis