There should be a fancy word

Fifty dollar vocabulary

For the fear of crying

A triskaidekaphobia

Triggered by tears instead of a number ~

For surely they must be a kryptonite

Something to weaken us

Something that dissolves all armor

In the face of our enemies ~

There should be a remedy

For the blurred eyes

And burning throat

Of an oncoming onslaught

Like a blanket to extinguish fire

Or an emergency warning

Before the dam finally breaks ~

But where was the origin

The root of the superstition

That said that tears set us to crumble

Leave the one who sheds them vulnerable

Perhaps the cure rests with the source ~

Of generations

Hiding pain behind a smile

Swallowing tears with afternoon tea ~

Until their bellies filled with their own choked back feelings

Consuming their hearts and spirits – Caroline A. Slee