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Secret Life Lyrics by Li-Young Lee

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Alone with time, he waits for his parents to wake,
a boy growing old at the dining room table,
pressing into the pages of one of his father's big books
the flowers he picked all morning
in his mother's garden, magnolia, hibiscus,
azalea, peony, pear, tulip, iris;
reading in another book their names he knows,
and then the names from their secret lives;
lives alchemical, nautical, genital;
names unpronounceable fascicles of italic script;
secrets botanical
description could never trace:
accessory to empire, party to delusions of an afterlife,
kin to the toothed, mouthed, furred,
horned, brained. Flowers
seem to a boy, who doesn't know better, like the winged,
the walking, the swimming and crawling things abstracted
from time, and stilled by inward gazing.
Copying their pictures, replete with diagrams, he finds
in the words for their parts,
the accounts of their histories,
and their scattered pollen,
something to do with his own fate
and the perfection of all dying things.
And when it's time, he discovers in the kitchen
the note left for him that says
his parents have gone and will return by noon.
And when it's time, the dove
calls from its hiding place
and leaves the morning greener
and the one who hears the dove more alone.
Credits
Li-Young Lee

Li-Young Lee

About “Secret Life” by Li-Young Lee

Read the complete lyrics to "Secret Life" by Li-Young Lee. On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Non-Music, Literature.

"Secret Life" is performed by Li-Young Lee. This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "Secret Life", explore more songs by Li-Young Lee using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

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Frequently asked questions

"Secret Life" is credited to Li-Young Lee. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

Album information for "Secret Life" is not available in our database yet. You can still read the full lyrics on this page.

Visit the Li-Young Lee artist page at /artist/li-young-lee for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.