My mother said
I didn’t cry as a baby,
lately I don’t cry as a woman,
where do my tears go?
Have I placed them somewhere
in the care of another?
Somewhere
under someone’s covers?
Or their sheets?
With smell of frankincense
and amber on the parts
where my nose would be
I think I remember where they are,
the whiff of Amber on a pillow
helps me recall that they might have been taken
by a mystical crab with long and gentle claws
Although,
crab’s not at fault
I brought my tears to him,
but I didn’t bring a jar
So they dropped and slid and
dripped onto his carpet
and his sheets that smelled of
amber and frankincense
He watched them flow
intentionally,
knowing that I needed those moments
That were overdue
And he saved those tears,
Somewhere,
I just didn’t know they were my last few
Now I’m waiting around for a sign
of when I can come back,
to trace the drips of salt water,
to where they and his claws clashed
Fear tells me that
he won’t give them back,
Hope tells me that
he’s waiting on me to ask
For the glass,
the one that he got from the shelf
where he also kept
my favorite ginger beer
He swooped them up
and poured the tears there
caring for my vulnerability
more than I have been lately
Yet my imbalance reminds me
that it’s time
to make a move
towards healing
Intuition tells me
to go get them,
to listen to their journey
while away from me
While being with him
and that I may even find
some of crab’s own tears
mixed in the glass with mine
It may become a ritual,
to share a sacred glass
from this life,
and the last
And the next,
the one where
we created the soul tie
of sharing abandoned tears
Sharita A. Sims, self-published author of Vacuum Reality and Blues Is My Happy Place, was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the midst of poverty and the Baptist church practice as an adolescent in the new millennium. Either by being an old soul, or perhaps the product of elderly influence, has molded Sims with her wisdom as throughout her life she has been able to express her understanding of life with the spirit of her ancestors guiding her tongue and words. As a writer, she is commanding of the reader’s heart and consciousness with her devotion to provoke emotional responses, thoughts, and to inspire intimate bonding within her culture.
Editor’s note: If you enjoy Sharita’s poetry, be sure to check out a few of Big Easy Magazine’s previously featured poets! JGT, Tyree Worthy, Nolan Storey and Joao Amos deserve your attention!
