I didn’t recognise the first tears,
then I saw that she had been weeping,
For me a chance encounter,
A simple purchase,
That took me to a broken marriage,
The deep sadness of love quashed,
Life now lived in loneliness,
I never would have known,
Except I took to the time to ask,
About the moisture glistening on her cheeks.
Shocked by the sudden sobs,
Big men don’t cry is our belief,
Yet here is a big man crying in front of me,
The poverty of brokenness,
The fears that surface every day,
Robbing life of sleep,
The daily fruitless search for rest,
I never would have known,
Except I took the time to listen,
To the everyday frustrations of a wounded soul.
What lies behind the eyes we see each day,
The deep sadnesses of broken promises,
Dreams hoped for.
Love’s deepest desires.
Pain that is truly heard by another,
Is the gift that all can give,
Rest is offered in compassion,
Today I will seek to know,
I will take the time to listen,
So that pain is heard and given its voice.
