This Is a Poem About Tears by Smitha Vishwanath

Image | Zarina Khalilova

This Is a Poem About Tears

This is a poem about tears
Its emergence from the well of your being,
to the surface of your eyes
hanging precariously on the brink
before crossing the embankment of your lashes,
flooding your face.

This is a poem about grief-
Its piercing incision into your gut
scraping all that’s inside
leaving an empty cavity
like the pumpkin you prepare for Halloween
hollow from within.

This is a poem about injustice-
an impudent child who refuses to listen
and correct its ill-mannered ways;
knows only how to snatch and throw tantrums
and create discord

This could be a poem about anything
But it talks of nothing in particular
that makes a difference
or solves the problem-
Of grief, injustice

or the uncontrollable barrage of tears
that floods the countenance.

© Smitha Vishwanath

Smitha Vishwanath

Smitha Vishwanath’s poems are found in several International online publications, including Thieving Magpies, Spillwords Press, MasticadoresUSA, Silverbirch Press, Borderless Journal, and other noteworthy anthologies. She has received many awards and honors from Spillwords, and has been nominated for Best of the Net. She received the Reuel International Prize in 2022. Smitha is the author of Coming Home (2023). She co-authored a book of poems, ROADS : A Journey with Verses (2019). You can follow Smitha on her blog: https://smithavpennings.com.

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