tears you could have cried

Picking up the internal slack,

invoking an inward tension

that emboldens one to face the day

and the prospects of oncoming ones.

Wet cheeks reveal visible cues,

flipping calendars, leaf upon leaf:

          . . . existing surrenders,

like a sparkled after-rain,

bringing a moist crystalline relief

               that fills the cracks

and mends the broken places.