tears i’ve cried waiting for you to come back, to hold me in your arms. tears i’ve cried, hoping you’d stop the lies that broke you apart. tears i couldn’t feel until my shirt was already soaked by their desperation for you to be there. so many tears.

tears that stain my cheeks like the darkest lacquer, dulling all of my crevices. tears that glare and halt you like red lights, they make you acknowledge their presence. so many tears i wish i never cried.

tears i’ve cried, wishing for the right one to love me, yet all along, right one was the same one crying. tears i’ve shed like snakeskin, ridding my chest of the overbearing, inescapable pain that seemed to plague me at every turn. tears that feel euphoric to let go of.

tears that lingered in the back of my mind like every evening thought i wash away with words of light and promises of better days. tears i cry of pride, of fear, of confusion, of joy, of disappointment, of anger; tears of emotion — emotions i used to long to be devoid of. so many tears i’m proud to cry.

tears are not weakness. they are not inability to cope, they’re coping perfectly and healthily. they’re a process of healing, a sign of feeling, a remedy to the reeling bustle of everyday humaness. tears are the sun and moon of a warrior. they come and go, come and go, come and go — everyday. they always rise in their due time and come back again.

tears fall for all kinds of reasons, good and bad, they’re a lot more unstable than humans as they’re so misconstrued sometimes, but they always lead to something beautiful, even if their original visit is ugly.

tears heal. they break. they mourn. they hurt. they glisten and bring out the ugliest pieces of you. but they always leave you better than they came.

and that’s the beauty of tears.  

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(Featured Artwork: Liza Rusalskaya)