Once I thought I knew you—
   Thought you’d laid all secrets bare—
I believed we could share anything, we two.
Thrice a month you begged off
   Going with me anywhere;
And if someone said that mattered, well, I scoffed.

And little things accumulate, as little things will do;
Things which help me know the real you.

Two dogs from one litter
   Were the pets for which I cared;
But your merest presence gave them both the jitters.
I never understood
   What made them act so very scared,
Or what made them run off deep into the woods.

The little things accumulate, as little things will do…
Now I’m not sure if I know the real you.

Your dietary habits
   Were the kind that’s medium-rare,
You often joked while barbecuing rabbit;
When we dined, I soon learned
   Not to set out silverware
As your skin looked, when you touched it, badly burned.

And little things accumulate, as little things will do:
Do I really want to know the real you?

Now I’ve learned the truth, and
   Why you wished it not be bared,
The secrets of your odd, ancestral clan.
Still and all, I love you
   And my heart’s begun to tear:
When every option hurts, what should I do?

The little things accumulated, as they always do.
And now I can’t un-know the real you.