Where do the tears go
After they are shed?
After they wander down your cheeks
And melt your heart’s hardness?
Do they turn to mist and join
The clouds above,
Eventually returning to their source,
That unending ocean,
The origin of us
And all living things?
Do they course down your neck
And slip across your naked body,
Only to sink softly into the dark earth
That will cover us when we sleep
The sleep of eternity?
Or do they return
By way of the heart
To the threshold of our souls
So, we may shed them again
And again
Whenever they are needed
To sing our hearts’ deepest longing?
David Hanig 