Is it our secrets

Is it our secrets

That define us

And make us who we are

Without them are we

But avatars

Lacking the essence of ourselves

The inner substance

The hidden process

The overlay of conscious thought

The development of an inner voice

An internal dialogue

A continual feedback, filtering

Representing, editing, seeking validation

Holding back

Half understood truths

Even from ourselves

Fearing hurt

Wary of our capacity to destroy

Those things we hold most dear

With an unguarded phrase

A selfish thought

Those who profess

To tell it how it is

Have few friends

Do we lie to protect the integrity

Of the constructions we

Have built

The personality we create

The love we have for each other

Is lying one of life's oldest truths

When secrets underpin our lives

Would trust exist without them

Do we need secrets to keep

The beliefs we have, safe

Are secrets a validation

Of self

Without them are we but cyphers

A series of bio computers

Regurgitating information

Requests

Without benefit of nuance

Edge or bias

The singularity of character

The unique combination

Of individual flaws

All of which are known collectively

As our humanity

Intrinsically bound in

An accident of psychology

The secrets we hold,

As much a part of the genome

As a chromosome.