half a crying soul

if you want

to know

true sadness, go to the local

pawn

shop and look beneath

the hard

glass cases

at rings and watches.

pearls

and diamonds,

rubies

and emeralds, all once

adored

and worn

to a wedding or

some event,

marked on calendars

long ago,

but now

sold or pawed for a tenth

of their worth,

and half

a crying soul.