Secrets under the rug

I know there is baggage that lies

Underneath the surface, I have seen it in eyes

That glance away furtively when difficult questions are posed

I have seen smiles disappear, open demeanors close

There are secrets that hidden remain

In dark corners, like faded stains

Secrets from the past that if revealed

Can break relationships that have healed..

**

There are stories spun over generations

That give secrets a palatable presentation

With cleverly woven fiction and fact

Trying to keep the kernel of truth intact

Stories evolve as they are retold

As myths and legends, in layers they unfold..

**

All families have secrets, some kept hidden completely

Others baked into fiction, or an alternate reality

I wonder if I dug deeper in my family to find

Secrets swept under the rug- would it mess with my mind

Or would it give me a new direction, a novel path

Towards building a future based on my past?