Secrets
THE rain has beaten the tall maize down;
Oh proud maize, with the golden crown,
Broken thou liest at my feet.
The woman had a secret,
That cradled in her heart,
"None else have such a secret,"
She said, "save I, accursed!"
She journeyed through the world,
The secret in her heart,
And Oh, each one she met,
The women spinning at their sunny doorsills,
The reapers toiling where the corn was thickest,
The maidens with full pitchers by the streamlet,
Each had a secret,
She was afraid.
She saw their eyes,
And through them, saw their hearts,
Wherein the secrets lay.
And some were white as moonlight,
And some were black as night,
And some were red as roses,
And some were grey as doves.
She was afraid.
She bent to ask her heart,
Wherein her secret nestled,
"Tell me their names, and thine."
And her secret answered, laughing,
"The names of some are Sorrows, the names of some are Sins,
And the colours tell thee whether they be Sorrows or be Sins."
And the woman questioned, trembling,
"What colour then art thou?"
And her secret answered, laughing,
"That thou shalt never know,
Though thy heart must house me warmly,
And thy breast must rock me softly,
All thy life."
She was afraid.
The rain has beaten the tall maize down;
Oh proud maize, with the golden crown,
Broken thou liest at my feet.