The Tears I Cry
By DWS
Look in my eyes
& you’ll see the tears I cry
As I lie back on my bed
The vivid memories of my family
& I flow through my head, I’ll be a liar
If I say, I didn’t see this coming
Growing up in the city of D.C
Wasn’t always peaches & cream for me
I was always told by many I’m worthless
& would never amount to anything
Many nights I’ve set in the dark
Wondering if there was someone
There who could heal my broken heart.
My father was never there
So my mother had to do it alone
Struggling just to make ends meet
Raising 6 kids in a 3 bedroom home
To see my mother do this taught me that
Women are very strong, & I praise her
Every day for not leaving me alone
That’s why it hurt me
Because I never got the chance to truly thank her
& say goodbye because I was sitting in an 8.10 cell
When she died, just the thought of it
Brings tears to my eyes
Now look at me & tell me
Can you see the tears I cry
The people I thought loved me
1 by 1 all started to dissipate
& I realize they were never there for love
It was just the material things & again I find myself
Feeling alone like I once did before
& I yearn for my heart to be healed once more
But the biggest pain of all makes
Me feel ashamed & weak so much so
That I catch myself crying in my sleep
& that’s knowing I’ve abandoned
My children as my father did &
Becoming him was something I never
Thought I’ll be. Wondering will they
Hate me like I hated him makes
Me shiver in fear from limb to limb
The black white walls of my cell
Turns into a movie screen
& the memories of my past become
My mental pain
I start to feel my eyes water
& then the tears flow
& I think to myself
When will my pain go
Inshallah it’s soon
But, I have to remain patient
Until I come to know
Although people see me smile
& laugh a lot
I often wonder if they can also
Look at me & see
The Tears I Cry
15 Comments
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The poets featured here are currently incarcerated, and many of them are in federal prisons far from home. Your feedback is a valuable source of motivation and connection to the outside community. Post your comments, feedback, and encouragement in the space below the poem. Messages will be passed on directly to the author. Comments may not appear immediately on the site, as our team processes them to mail to the poets.
Hi DWS,
This poem was so full of emotion and honesty that it reached me in the first few lines. The first section that struck me was ‘id be a liar if I didn’t see this coming’. This reminded me of the many mistakes I’ve made while aware that I would suffer the consequences. Also the section about your mom and the struggle she had was really a touching tribute to her memory. Your a talented writer and have a relatable perspective. Thank you for sharing your poetry
Your poem brought tears to my eyes. I hope you continue to be patient and know that you are worth everything. Please keep sharing your feelings and emotions with others and through writing.
Thank you for sharing such raw pain and emotion. Beautifully written.
Hi DWS
This is an emotional poetry. I can feel the pain and struggle that you are going through.
You are doing great and I believe that your passion in writing will help you cope as well.
I always believe that sharing your pain by poem will also inspire and strengthen others. Someone else who will read this will also know that they are not alone.
Thank you for sharing a wonderful poem and know that you are an amazing person.
I am also hoping that my works can reach others to entertain and in hoping to inspire others to write.
All the best!
Jane C – https://myheartout2theworld.wordpress.com/
This was such a beautiful and touching poem, thank you for sharing your story. I hope you are doing well currently and have happiness in your life ahead.
As the words are read, you can feel it in your bones. Filled with such emotion and resentment and love and strength. So many people in your situation are suffering, but are still so worthy to be loved. Love is what will get you back to your family. Love will help heal you and help you become the best version of yourself. Pain is only felt and interpreted by the beholder, but sympathy and empathy is what is felt by the observer. I hope that one day you can feel more happiness than you’ve ever experienced. Thank you for sharing this beautiful poem. And remember pain is only temporary.
This is a very emotional poem. It is so powerful and personal that you cannot help but feel what you feel while reading it. Keep on writing and do not stop! Very good job on this!!
This is such a deep poem! You bring so much emotion to the poem and make it so powerful!! Keep up the good work and keep writing the emotional poems!
Dear DWS,
Thank you for sharing this poem– I really liked the way that you told such an authentic story in such an artful way. The way you told this story with lots of heartache and hope but still made it rhyme and formatted it in such an interesting way reminds me of the way we can always make something beautiful from any story. I really liked that some stanzas were indented more than others– it gave a sense of being on a journey with different twists and turns. I especially liked the reflections on your mother and the strength of women. This was such a nicely written and creatively presented poem– I hope you will continue to make more of them.
Best,
JM
Dear DWS,
I enjoyed reading your poem, “The Tears I Cry”. The line that truly stood out to me was, “That’s why it hurt me because I never got the chance to truly thank her and say goodbye because I was sitting in an 8.10 cell when she died”. This line struck me because it revealed how your mother’s death impacted you by remembering the details of the cell block you were in when she died. While reading this line, I felt the helplessness you must have experienced as you sat in your cell block as your mother died. I also liked that you used the poetic technique of repeating the phrase “look at me and see the tears I cry”, since it made me think about how these events still affected you and continue to cause you pain. Your main message of guilt over past mistakes made me reflect over my own personal regrets and made me realize that I need to take responsibility for my own mistakes instead of blaming others. Overall, I think that you did an excellent job writing this poem and I look forward to reading more of your work.
From,
LW
Dear DWS,
I enjoyed reading your poem, “The Tears I Cry”. The line that truly stood out to me was, “That’s why it hurt me because I never got the chance to truly thank her and say goodbye because I was sitting in an 8.10 cell when she died”. This line struck me because it revealed how your mother’s death impacted you by remembering the details of the cell block you were in when she died. While reading this line, I felt the helplessness you must have experienced as you sat in your cell block as your mother died. I also liked that you used the poetic technique of repeating the phrase “look at me and see the tears I cry”, since it made me think about how these events still affected you and continue to cause you pain. Your main message of guilt over past mistakes made me reflect over my own personal regrets and made me realize that I need to take responsibility for my own mistakes instead of blaming others. Overall, I think that you did an excellent job writing this poem and I look forward to reading more of your work.
From,
Lucy W.
Dear DWS,
I enjoyed reading your poem, “The Tears I Cry”. The line that truly stood out to me was, “That’s why it hurt me because I never got the chance to truly thank her and say goodbye because I was sitting in an 8.10 cell when she died”. This line struck me because it revealed how your mother’s death impacted you by remembering the details of the cell block you were in when she died. While reading this line, I felt the helplessness you must have experienced as you sat in your cell block as your mother died. I also liked that you used the poetic technique of repeating the phrase “look at me and see the tears I cry”, since it made me think about how these events still affected you and continue to cause you pain. Your main message of guilt over past mistakes made me reflect over my own personal regrets and made me realize that I need to take responsibility for my own mistakes instead of blaming others. Overall, I think that you did an excellent job writing this poem and I look forward to reading more of your work.
From,
Lucy W.
Dear DWS,
Your poem is incredible. I felt your pain through the words and wish that I could do something to alleviate it for you. We live life expecting the things we have to never go away, but your lines about losing your mother while in a cell are heartbreaking, especially during this pandemic when we can’t share grief with each other in close contact because of the virus.
Danielle
I loved how you expressed yourself. It is brave and courageous that you shared your feelings the way you did. I encourage you to write more and keep expressing yourself.
DWS,
I want to say thank you for how vulnerable you are in this poem. I truly felt like I was reading a short biography of your life. I can feel the emotion behind each one of your words and they flowed beautifully. I like the rhyming that you incorporated into your piece as well. I hope that you get your heart healed, and that you keep on writing.