The Bright Light of Joy – A Poem

When she looked

at me, all

I saw were

eyes that were

filled with pity.

The tears fell

from her eyes

and slid along

her cheeks, looking

like jewels made

from her sadness.

She passed the

jewels to me,

putting her tears

into my cupped

hands. I looked

at them, shining

so brightly yet

so heavy with

despair. I looked

back at her

and saw no understanding

of what I

endured, only sadness.

I said:

“I do not have to take on your emotions.”

I let the

jewels fall from

my hands and

watched as they

floated in the

air like bubbles

filled with rainbows.

“I do not have to own your sadness.”

I said.

I watched as

the jewels began

to open in

the air, as

if they were

flowers or little

bits of joy.

Soon, the room

was filled not

with the luminosity

of tears, but

instead the bright

light of joy.