I have to admit, the title sparked my interest! Like do we harbor secrets while we sleep, dreaming about them but keeping them in our minds? Or, do our secrets sleep and we choose to wake them up or tell other people?

The depth in this is amazing. There's still some mystery in this, like in these lines:

"Rusty regrets
running backwards ,"
- Makes me realize regrets we cannot worry about or sometimes, cannot do anything about. We can only try to make amends with ourselves and others, but we can't change that something happened, just our outlook or reaction to it I guess. Regrets will never push us forward... sometimes we have to face reality.

"becoming numb
to what was real."
- Good tie-in. This also reminds me of Linkin Park's song "Numb"!

I like the twist in the ending, if you call it that. How we first become numb to what was real, but cannot escape truth forever. It's almost macabre to think about. I believe the truth sets us free but it can be hard to accept it or learn how to cope/deal with it.... the mention of "forgotten memories" turning into "never-ending nightmares" suggest abuse or something we try to repress? Like we are at a war with ourselves over what we see and what we feel about ourselves, or our worth, others' worth, etc.

Provoking write.

Oh I absolutely love this. Just like POTP, the title drew me in. Very good choice of title, fits perfectly.

"Sleeping secrets
always become
tomorrow's troubles. "

Secrets are weird. "What two people know, everybody knows". I live my life in obfuscated half-truths to avoid being chased by these sleeping secrets. To try and avoid tomorrow's troubles. I really feel these three lines, and the depth in them. I can touch them, they're tangible, and even when taken out of context, they're still saying so so so much!

"Rusty regrets
running backwards ,
becoming numb
to what was real. "

What I get from these lines is that truth is something we try not to look at. We turn our eyes away - running backwards - and we numb ourselves. We try to pretend everything's' alright, but it's not. We're just pretending. We're always just pretending. We don't want to see the world as it is. Our lives as it is. Ourselves as we are. And that is dangerous.

Really powerful words, and amazingly huge depth.

"Truth travels fast,
awakening your dreams
by turning forgotten memories
into never-ending nightmares. "

This though. This is the climax. This is where my heart sped up and started playing rhythms of aching. Because of how much I can relate to it.

I have PTSD and retrograde amnesia. The truth is dangerous to me. And that part especially makes the ending to the poem stand out for real. I can relate to it to so strong degrees that it's painful to think about. Because your words are my reality.

I keep my secrets asleep, running backwards with constant regret, becoming numbed off. And then the truth comes and awakens me from my dreams, and my memories come back. And when my memories come back, they don't stop. They haunt me for the rest of the night, and by the time the nightmare is finally over, I'm completely broken. I'm dead. Dead inside.

This poem has such amazing depth and truths hidden within it. Especially the last parts. Just... Amazing. Great job. Seriously well-written, and the emotional impact of the read is extremely high. 5/5 obviously.

But damn. I just... Yeah. Sorry for writing half an essay on one part of my background. Just... Thank you for writing this. I can relate to it so much that it hurts, but the pain... The pain is beautiful. This time.

Great job, Saffie.

xoxo
Jean <3