The Tears Won't Come

Morning Tears by Paul Binnie

The tears are not coming.
They have sent their regrets.
The weeping is on hiatus.
And yet I am so upset.

My sadness will not abate
Without an emotional release
But the S.N.R.I. I'm taking
Makes it hard to attain that peace

I used to cry quite often,
Others must have thought me weak,
But I regarded it as a blessing;
A badge of sorrow flowing down my cheek.

This day we celebrate mothers.
They who nursed us with great care.
Who praised and nagged and fed us
And told us what to wear.

The metastasized foreign colonies
Flourished under small domes.
Like little stationary marbles,
Up and down her arms.

My mother was so afraid
Of dying in great pain;
We spoke of it so often that
It's seared into my brain.

It was a kind of blessing
Among all the emotional boil
That the anesthesia induced dementia
Unraveled her mortal coil.

I really have to concentrate
As method actors do
To darken my mind even further
And bring the tears to fore.

But even if I succeed
In satiating this grief.
I know it'll be back again,
Bundled into sheaves.

Birthday Wish

For Dollface's birthday I gave her an extravagant and intangible gift. Placed in a small box, light as air, and wrapped in Sponge Bob birthday paper. In the accompanying card I wrote another poem to express my love for her and with her permission I'm posting it here:

---

I don't know what to write.
I am at a loss.
My muse has up left me.
The writer has been blocked.

A birthday wish should be ethereal.
Light and full of joy.
For this, your birthday, I wish
To you, not a care in the world.

Such days are reserved for pleasantries.
Lighthearted fun and toys.
Candy, cake, and ice cream.
And other trinkets of joy.

Algea, goddess of sorrow,
is not welcome here.
Nor her mother Eris,
the spirit of discord.

We are gathered here to celebrate.
And to open a gift most fair.
For the birthday of my cherished love.
The Dollface that I hold most dear.

So have some cake and icing
And maybe a cookie or two
And open the gift before you.
From he, your love so true.

And remember these words I've written.
And remember the love we both feel.
For while the offering is intangible.
The extravagance is very real.

---

The image at left is called "Rabbit's Delight" and it's the birthday card that I gave to Dollface. You may not be able to tell from the small image, but the rabbits are eating the icing flowers off of a birthday cake. The endearment inside reads "Have a little cake with your icing."

It was created by Maili Poag and you can see this and more of her beautiful anthropomorphic cards at Toadstool Designs.

Pre-Birthday Wish

Dollface had a birthday coming up and wanted something extravagant, so I came up with a gift that was both that and intangible. Because it was going to rain on her birthday we decided to have a dinner a day afterwards. I wanted to give this extravagant/intangible gift during dinner so I wrote a little pre-birthday poem in a kind of Dr. Seussian style to give to her on her actual birthday. (It's not as good as the least of his verse, but it was received warmly.)

---

Dollface has a birthday that is significant,
so how did I choose to cel-le-brate it?
With bows and trinkets
on Jewelry and ingots?

Maybe some friends
will pay us a visit,
And accompany us
to a gallery or exhibit.

I might have sprung
for off-Broadway tickets.
Or bluesy music with rough hewn lyrics.
Or maybe even a museum of hieroglyphics.

On the other hand I can assure you that
it won't be furniture with rivets,
Or Gravy and biscuits,
Nor will it be Tofurky and giblets.

Whatever it is you'll
need to have patience.
And quietly, to yourself,
count down the minutes.

So no crying or screaming or
threats or ballistics.
Or the whining that
such conditions elicit.

For I won't reveal it.
No matter how much
you threaten or kibitz.

Until the appointed time
at where ever it is
that we're filling
our stomachs.