Tears

Everything made me weepy today.
The gold October light
Spreading through the air,
Saturating leaves and grasses--
The news from Syria of children
With flesh on fire--
The sight of my friend over breakfast,
Her smart suit the color of butter--
The photo of my newest grandchild,
A boy named Raven smiling
Side-eyed at his father--
The memory of my own father's
Rough and lovely sandpaper laugh--
The view of that river twisting
Down City Creek Canyon like
A gleaming gray otter.

Some people think depression is sadness.
It's not.
Depression is a dark endless walk
Down a dark endless hall
Too narrow for tears.
Tears come only when there is a
Glimmer--no matter how faint--of
Light beneath a hallway door.
Tears are a gift.
Taste your tears and rejoice.