CRY FOR ME
By Mark Marcus
(Saturday, October 25, 2008)

1.
Cry for me. 

Will you not cry for me? 

Why do you not cry for me?

I have seen you cry for the brave, the bold, and the blundering who do nothing but blame you for their misdeeds.

I have seen you cry for the rancorous, the vicious, and the wicked who only seek to destroy you. 

Often have I seen you cry for the rich, the famous, the beautiful, and the well-to-do.

Though rarely, I have even seen you cry for the downtrodden, the peacemaker, and the innocent.

You readily cry for yourself at each opportunity, be it self made or self-fulfilling, of which I do not know. 

2.
Cry for me. 

Will you not cry for me? 

Why do you not cry for me?

For me, it seems, you shed not a tear. 

For me, you only shed vengeance, hatred, disgust, and despair.

For me, you ostentatiously exude darkness, repugnance, and detestation.

You are ghoulishly titillated, stimulated, and vindicated as my ever waning faith in you, in us, shatters into tiny shards of salty liquid glass as your contempt for me, your disdain of me erupts into viscerally-charged verbal mirrors of your soul.    

Gaming me, feigning me, and ultimately blaming me is all you seem to know. 

3.
Cry for me. 

Will you not cry for me? 

Why do you not cry for me?

Have I not been there for you in your darkest hour? 

Was I not there for you, ahead and beyond all others, when the tendrils of terror entwined your thoughts as you lay in the hospital bed?

When you called for me, in the midnight hour, did I not offer my weary arms as I stood up for you, stood up with you, and stood by you in the recovery lair? 

When you cried, did I not cry with you? 

4.
Cry for me. 

Will you not cry for me? 

Why do you not cry for me?

After all I have done and attempted to do for you, for us, you glimpse me as a headmaster does a troublesome pupil, as a canine does a flea, as a vampire does the Holy cross; but there is nothing Holy about your commitment to me.  

Emptiness, hopelessness, and powerlessness is all you wish me to see.

At best, you gaze upon me as though I were a nuisance, an annoyance, a dreary matinee.

5.
Are there no tears for wandering, wondering, Kentucky boys? 

You court hypocrisy, embrace deception, and caress chaos with the enthusiasm of a young lover.

Yet, from me, you turn away.  

6.
I will cry for you, I promise.

I will remember all of the moments you thanked me for crying with you and your true family, of which I was never permitted to join.

I will remember the times when we, you and I, cried together with joy, with hope, with love.

7.
On the last day, I will cry, just as I did on the first. 

During our final moments, what remains of my broken heart will weep just as it does, right now.

Someday, and oh so late, you will come to know that I and only I, cried for you, thus, you were never alone.

And when I close my eyes for the last time, you will yet again not cry, for you will not know.

8.
Cry for me. 

Will you not cry for me? 

Why did you not cry for me? my beloved wife.