Where Tears Are Less Common Than Rain

I had twenty dollars
That I wanted to give
To my neighbor’s middle grandkid
For finishing something
That no one believed he could.

And so I gave it,
Though, it wasn't much,
But it was all I had,
And it was more than enough
For him, and just in time
To help him send an application off
To a school where he hoped to get in.

The look in his eye
Was so thankful and sweet,
It brought a tear to mine,
And I turned to my friend
Holding another grandbaby on her hip,
Stirring up a big bunch
Of something in a kitchen pan,
And I asked her,
“Can I hold that sweet baby?”
(Who must’ve been two or three)

And the baby noticed me cry,
And asked her Gaga,
“Mama, why it rain from her eye?”
And as I took her into my arms,
I realized,
This baby had seen it rain
More than she’d ever seen any emotion,
Which is saying something
When you live in West Texas.

 

-jenn long