What do happy tears hold?

 

They hold happiness and salt

And certain enzymes, so I’m told 

 

They hold you and they hold me

 

Scientists believe

They hold a biological purpose

Like tears of sadness

And tears of pain 

But those I understand 

Happy tears just seem so strange

 

They hold my hand

And the hands of all my past selves

 

They hang like shelves 

On which people place their baffled looks

 

“Why’s she crying?” Someone worries.

 

Happy tears hold stories

They hold the pages with corners folded over 

Between here and the front cover

 

And they unfold those corners

And un-crease the paper with their warm water 

 

They hold the all the love and gratitude that spills over my brim

They hold me and they hold you

They hold all the pages they’ve now soaked through 

And I hold them on my cheeks as I say “I do.”