A Man’s Tear

He came running with all the longing in the world running alongside him.
His arms opened wide, as if to embrace a lifetime of waiting.
His steps outran his breath,
and his heartbeat nearly choked from the weight of yearning.
He drew closer but her eyes no longer lit up the way they used to.
Her smile didn’t rise to meet him.
Her gaze was weary, searching the horizon for an exit that didn’t include him.
And when he finally reached her,
she extended her hand like a stranger.
He hesitated.
He didn’t touch her.
He didn’t reach out.
He understood—
he had come far too late.
His eyes asked her a thousand silent questions.
She answered them all
with a quiet nod—
like a ceiling that cracks without a sound.
A single tear betrayed him,
slipping down his cheek.
She caught it in her palm,
and held onto it…
as if it were the last piece of him she could keep.
Their eyes met, for one still, breathless moment— a moment that said everything words could not.
She placed her hand gently on her heart,
as if to say:
“You’re still here…
but you’re no longer mine.”
Then she turned away…
and left.
And he stood there,
staring at the road she disappeared into,
as if the earth, after her departure,
had forgotten which way was forward.