THE TEARS, THE TEARS OF THINGS

But, oh, the tears, the tears of things that flood
The earth and sky, my Lord: the leaves that fall;
The flowers that fade; the birds that die; and all
The agony of flesh and bone and blood.
And how about the loneliness of heart
Bereft of care; the aches of dark disease;
The sorrow of despair on bended knees
Beyond the help of science and art.

Well I remember one so sweet and young
Who died both hopelessly and tearlessly
Of fell disease beyond both thought and tongue;
She shed no tears, O Lord, not fearlessly:
The anguish was too deep for fearlessness;
There, perhaps, too, are tears of tearlessness.

-Benito Reyes
(Dialogues With God –
Sonnet psalms on the significance of being human)