Tears

Editor’s note: Today we share a poem written by Jodie Marino Nachison of Las Cruces in the context of all that’s happening in the world.

Tears
for women who struggle
to pull on punishing emotional girdles
to contain the pain of the their past
only to have it spill over at night

for women who try to forget but simply can’t
who suffer silently through inappropriate jokes
that abruptly jolt their sensibilities

for women who are ensnared in uncaring relationships
where responses to their pain fall short

for women who have been shot down
told to get over it
told they deserved it

for little girls
whose own mothers say
they don’t believe them
or we don’t talk about that

for little girls and women
forced to have sex with others
for profit or perfidy

for women afraid to be judged
clueless about how break the chains

for women who live with the confusion
from raising the sons
who cause such tears

There must be more than tears

Jodie Marino Nachison of Las Cruces calls herself “The Reckless Poet” because of her poor impulse control and her willingness to tackle any subject with brutal honesty and on-the-edge humor.