Please See Me Through My Tears

You asked, "How are you doing?"  

As I told you, tears came to my eyes...and you  

looked away and quickly began to talk again.  

All the attention you had given me had drained away.  

"How am I doing?" I do better when people listen,  

though I may shed a tear or two.  

This pain is indescribable. If you've never known it, you  

cannot fully understand.  

Yet I need you.  

When you look away,  

I am again alone with it.  

Your attention means more than you can ever know.  

Really, tears are not a bad sign, you know!  

They're nature's way of helping me to heal.  

They relieve some of the stress of sadness  

....but you are wrong.  

The memory of my loved one's death will always be with me,  

Only a thought away.  

My tears make my pain more visible to you, but you did not  

give me the pain...it was already there.  

When I cry, could it be that you feel helpless, Not knowing what to do?  

You are not helpless,  

And you don't need to do a thing but be there.  

When I feel your permission to allow my tears to flow,  

you've helped me  

You need not speak. Your silence as I cry is all I need.  

Be patient...do not fear.  

Listening with your heart to "how I am doing" relieves the pain  

for when the tears can freely come and go, I feel lighter.  

Talking to you releases what I've wanted to say aloud,  

clearing space  

for a touch of joy in my life.  

I'll cry for a minute or two... and then I'll wipe my eyes  

and sometimes you'll even find I'm laughing later.  

When I hold back the tears, my throat grows tight,  

my chest aches, my stomach knots...  

because I'm trying to protect YOU from my tears.  

Then we both hurt ME, because my pain is held inside,  

a shield against our closeness and YOU,  

because suddenly we are distant.  

So please, take my hand and see me through my tears...  

then we can be close again.  

Author Unknown