Can you keep a secret?

Can you keep a secret? Can you keep it in?

Will you be able to comprehend what I'm about to reveal?

Can you shut your mouth, as I just shut the door

To prevent the whispers from leaving us at all.

Will you keep it in, even if it is too much?

Even if the things I tell you blow away your mind?

Even when the words I tell you bump around your head?

Even if they scratch and beg you to be heard.

Be warned and beware, because this secret will try to get its way.

It will beg and scream, and trash and screech, until you begin to doubt why you agreed.

But you must remember if you say "I will" that you promised to keep your lips sealed.

I made mistakes before and tried to trust and share, 

But people like to babble even when they're snared. 

They made empty promises, they obliged and begged, 

But in the end, they failed me and left me with a mess.  

Their betrayal cost me years of pain and dread, 

nights of endless worrying, and my lovely heir. 

It led to pointless witchhunts, caused despair and grief,

had the innocent dying and the joy to leave. 

Secrets of this nature are for few to keep,

certain truths can kill you or make life grim.

It is hard to fathom who is right for this, 

Who will remain faithful and enjoy the scene.

People think they know what they want from life,

but it tends to only stand true if it's limited time. 

If they are faced with time and endless possibilities,

They begin to panic and regret their deals. 

Sometimes I have wondered if it is unfair, 

to bestow such power without clear details. 

If the lack of knowledge is where they went wrong, 

If knowing more things could have saved us all. 

But at times more knowledge does not give you much, 

Even knowing everything is just based in the past. 

No one can foresee the future based on what has passed,

Things can change so quickly and in such a rush.  

And other's experience rarely is enough, 

to determine what your own future holds.

Even if I told you all that I have seen, 

might not be enough to forge what you believe.

You have been a kind soul to this timeless heart, 

You have been attentive, patient, and warm.

With your bright demeanor and your endless cheer,

you have come to brighten the most frightful strips. 

With your quiet humming and your floundering 

I've begun to feel the life return to me. 

Time is not as empty, silence not as bleak, 

Days are filled with chatter with wonder and glee.

Slowly you have made yourself a place in my heart, 

There's nothing I enjoy more than how naive you are. 

Not afraid of darkness, or the talking wind. 

Unaware of the shadows that follow where I lead. 

You pay no heed at all to my icy glares,

You simply wave at me and tell me not to stare. 

You do not mind at all when I get in dark moods,

You leave me to be, kiss my cheek, and move along. 

For many years my antics were in a sense, 

my most simple and effective form of defense. 

Keeping all at bay, at more than arm's length, 

had ensured no pains and few things to regret.

But it numbed me slowly, drawing out my life, 

And until you came along, I could not see all that.     

Life was just a stream with a tired rhythm, 

no ingenious rocks, fish, or lifeforms in it.

And the days went by like a tired clock, 

ticking out the minutes a few seconds slow. 

Nothing out of place, nothing new to face, 

not a single startle or tune out of place.

Life became a game that I always won, 

as a single player that owned all the odds. 

I could find no players and no competition, 

And the win required only my completion. 

I could make the rules and could twist the turns,

There's no fun in games if you win them all. 

I thought controlling everything would bring me peace, 

But it brought no solace to be so appeased. 

Then you came along with all of your youth,

And reminded me how fun it can be to lose.

If the stakes are high and there's a chance to lose, 

it becomes so thrilling to feel the hinges are loose. 

That with every move you might fall and fail,

That even with your best attempts, not everything prevails. 

That for those alive, life is fun and thrilling,

full of hidden dangers and unbridled riddles.

When you depend on time and the air you breathe, 

everything eternal gains a whole new meaning. 

There's a price to pay for everything you do,

So your life becomes the bargains that you chose. 

And when offered something that alters your odds, 

You think you are ready to pay what that costs. 

You ignore the red flags and your mother's words, 

even if she warns you that you might get lost.   

The eagerness to live and to take on life, 

Might end up being the trap that forces you to halt.  

To surrender all the thing you have achieved,

and to lead a new life that you might not greet. 

I have tried to warn you and to give you a choice,

But I'm also selfish, and you bring me joy. 

You say that you want to share your life with me, 

To be in on the secret and take off with me. 

I know you think that you know the cost,

That you have the knowledge to accept the toll. 

And I really love, and I want you safe, 

But I will not repeat the same mistakes again.   

So none of it matters not one thing I've said,

because the only way to keep a secret is if one of us is dead.

And since the secret... is that I'm undead,

You better embrace it and become its grave.

They say that dead men can tell no tales, 

but maybe undead women have a different fate. 

So can you keep a secret, can you keep it in?

Will you walk the ages hand in hand with me? 

Or is it this moment you take your last precious breath. 

Either keep my secret or try to tell it dead.