Tearful Mantra

When I was three years old I cried.

And my father called me a sissy.

When I was six

The neighborhood bully called me a cry baby.

When I was fourteen

My mother said, "Big girls don't cry."

When I was twenty three

My husband called me a drama queen.

I don't cry anymore.

These are the words that stole my tears

That locked them deep within me.

Now I am my own jailer

As I repeat the mantra I have learned.