Living in one single tear

By the time it gently pushes itself down a cheek,
How many other hopes or fears have joined it,
To dwell on the cusp of a chin,
Before falling into oblivion;

So often, it is much more than the moment
There has been the welling
Until one single event produces the wound
And yesterday’s rain pours forth;

Hope produces a share
Hurt joins it there
Joys cannot resist its addition
Even love has its storm

There is a flow inside all of us
Fed from the heart
Gently coursing through all we do
Our lives resting in the serene lapping
Of the waves pressing our shores

Somewhere, off in the nether
A storm, almost unnoticed, rains down
A backwoods stream fills its banks
Rushing with a new urgency
To the mainstream

It may take minutes
It might take days
It could linger in the pool
Just waiting for its release
A word, a look, a rush
A tearing, a pouring, sweet release
Making room
A healing, a restoration, a patching
And the well begins to fill anew

A drop falls into oblivion
Giving its place to the next

Ron Simpson, Jr.
July 9, 2006