I Told Myself I Will Cry

by Emma Freeman

I told myself 

when I feel joy in my body

I will cry

I told myself

when I feel goosebumps of resonance on my skin

I will cry

I told myself

when I hear the cello sing her aching song

I will cry

I told myself

when I feel my heart touched by someone’s story 

I will cry

I told myself

when I see something beautiful 

I will cry

I told myself

when I sing and feel the presence of my grandmother 

I will cry

I told myself

when I laugh and hear the echo

 of my grandfather’s voice somewhere inside of my own

I will cry

I told myself

when I feel sadness and grief 

about all that I cannot put into words

I will cry

I told myself

I will allow this soft body 

to do what she is designed to do

to shed, to release, to cleanse, to feel

to feel

to feel

fully alive…