Waiting in Heaven Copyright © Rod O'Donoghue 2011

She’d sit there in the corner,
Curled up like an embryo -
shedding silent tears of sorrow
in a world I couldn’t go.

A fortress quite impregnable -
her arms clasped round her knees,
allowing none to break through
she shunned all sympathy.

In my pain I watched her,
as a tear formed in her eye.
It trickled smooth, sedate, serene
over the contours of her skin,
down past her nose,
and then past her mouth
gradually arriving at her chin...

...and there it paused,

slow motion set in
as it fell from the tip
of her quivering chin.

A sphere formed pure and simple
outside the realm of time.
Hovering there quite motionless,
this tear’s a sphere sublime.

My mind could hold it no longer -
the tear continued its fall.
It hit and marked her pale pink top
with the faintest stain of all.

There’s a stain of pain, and sorrow,
concealed in all these tears-
angelic pearls of paradise
which mark our days and years.

There are
tears of pain
and tears of sorrow
tears of anger
at lost tomorrows
then there’s
tears of laughter
and tears of fun -
transparent tears of pain and joy
each and every one.

The falling tears of my Angel,
beyond the reach of the sun,
I cried at your tears of sadness
as you struggled all alone.
I still feel the pain and sorrow
in each and every one.