Tear

Into the numinous, where tender heart strings,
So painfully plucked — as life's fragile thread,
Will unravel in pain, in tatters and shreds,
Soul naked and beggarly begging for gleanings,
Pained, the tear.

The loss and the ache and the mucous membrane,
Call moisture and minerals to daub the mask,
As if despair desired in dampness to bask,
And shame wipes the flow — with added disdain,
Soppy, the tear.

Yet this anointing of the eyes and face,
As the body weeps in moistened melancholy,
Though presenting us bedraggled and motley,
Releases rue in healing graces, and embraces,
Soothing, the tear.

And every single tear embodies the stories,
And every single tear a touch of holy water,
Though born in chapters of ache and of bitter,
Each sprinkles the sorrows and gently appeases.
Holy, the tear.