Where Teardrops Go
Written: July 1st, 2026 for a contest sponsored by: John Lawless
********************
Have you ever wondered
where our teardrops go?
Not the polite ones
that cling to the eyelid
like they’re waiting
for permission,
but the unruly kind —
the ones that leap
before you’re ready
and announce your feelings
to the room
like a drunk friend
with no sense of timing.
Follow them.
Follow the teardrops
where they lead you.
They slip down the cheek
like a pilgrim
on a narrow road,
carrying tiny reliquaries
of everything you meant
to say
but didn’t.
They fall
into the open air
with the confidence
of creatures who know
gravity is a myth
and landing is optional.
Some evaporate
into the sky,
becoming weather
for someone else’s sorrow.
Some sink
into the collar of your shirt
and hide there,
plotting their next move
like miniature anarchists
with a taste for rebellion.
Some roll
to the corner of your mouth
and pretend
they’re part of a smile.
Tongue-in-cheek,
literally.
And some —
the rare ones —
slip off your jaw
and vanish
before they hit the ground,
as if the universe
reached out
and caught them
in its palm.
People say
those teardrops
become stars.
People say
they become prayers.
People say
they become memories
you’ll return to
when you’re braver.
But the truth is simpler,
stranger,
and a little bit rude.
They go
exactly where they want.
Gotcha.
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