I Have to Cry
You don?t like it when I cry
You think it means
I lack control
Have not grown up
When I cry you hear me whine
But, darling, I have to cry
I have to cry
Because in Ireland and Liberia
And Los Angeles and Sri Lanka
Wars go on without reason
And sweetheart, I have to cry
I have to cry
Because in Bolivia and Calcutta
Los Angeles and Africa
Children go to bed hungry
I have to cry, because
Inside of me
There is a tear for every hurt
That did not need to be
And another tear for every hurt that did need to be
And dear one, I have to cry
I have to cry
Because my love is boundless
While I am not. Sometimes when I gaze at you,
A tender smile will not do
And so again I have to cry, just as
I have to cry
As I watch my children graduate
From age to age to age and away
That bittersweet pride, that boundless love
Binds me, blinds me with exquisite tears
I have to cry
Heartened yet helpless in the face of years
That pass like ashes rapidly
From a distant, controlled burn.
1998-2007 © Barbara Bales all rights reserved
bales law - This Special Hell - The Fugue of Our Correspondence - comments welcome, and if you don't I'll never know