At the center of each of us
A deep pool glistens
A well of tears
Fed from rivers of remembering
Here, exhausted hearts stop to rest
To spill the growing grief of moonless tides
Gently, waves wash gnarled bent hands
And the gaunt faces of mothers with stillborn dreams
Sorrow of sisters who could not tell their stories
Weary weeping borne with the nameless burdens
No time to reflect, slow down and ask questions
No time to repair all that’s worn through and ragged
Sunlight slowly smooths the surface
And the fog of forgetting retreats
Peaceful honesty, soft touch of gold hues
Soothes the swirling swells to calm
And from the vivid depths of human losses
I witness myriads of mirrored faces
See myself reflected in them all
As have millions of eyes before mine
Eyes that have watched deserts
Being formed from women and children
Singed with the screaming
Sparks of raw hatred
Eyes that closed yearning
For the warm welcome of family
In between long hours
The endless hunger of the red-splashed anger
We cannot evaporate the charred scars of our choices
Some tracks of tears weren’t meant to be dried
Healing hides in this quiet reservoir of keening
I will tend it tenderly with salty rain
The Sound of What Happens 
Lovely, Éilis, but too sad.
I’ve missed you lately. Where have you been?
Thanks, Ali, I’m sorry it was overly sad. I ended up processing a lot of grief myself over the weekend, and after a while the tears felt like everyone’s tears, the sadness seemed to melt into sadness itself and it just occurred to me, everyone experiences this sometimes. Sometimes that kind of sadness is only depressing but for some reason over the weekend it was much more healing, it made things cleaner in a way, eventually brighter, like as if being a clay being you just sometimes need to not be so dried out so things can keep growing.
I’ve missed you too! I’ve been grappling with what to do with my future and then just needed a few days to slow down and not think about or do much. Trying to catch up with the world now. 🙂
‘Some tracks of tears weren’t meant to be dried.’ How true. I hope there is some healing for you though.
There has been, thank you Jane.
I’m glad 🙂