Heather Hoffman

Forever Tears

Sometimes I’m certain

I might never stop crying

tissues wadded up in my pockets

sunglasses worn, still

when it’s cloudy and gray.

 

I smile through it

tears living their life Incognito

but becoming less discreet

time and time again

when provocation rears itself—

more murder of our fellow humans

defenseless creatures with no voice

killed in carelessness

or deliberately slain for sport.

 

I cry when I’ve realized

someone I wished to know

is gone, and that time has passed

never the chance to lock eyes

travel to a secret world together.

 

I’m almost certain

I will never escape the tears—

unrelenting erosion

of love, life, and the possibility

of intuiting another

with random and unexpected

depths of knowing

—still unknown.