Cry

Tears
deemed too self-indulgent
discipline the set of my jaw

At the crosswalk, a teenage boy
scans both ways, nervously
waiting for cars to notice him

planted solidly on the other side,
she holds the tether of her love
as an invisible guide

eyes locked, he launches
off the curb and rapidly tastes
a hard-won sliver of freedom

he is taller than the woman,
a little boy in a man’s body, his arm
around her shoulder, his smile a blessing

joyful
reason enough
to cry.