The Light Sees Your Hidden Tears

The music swells and you lift your face to smile, exactly as you should. Your hands clap at the right moments.

You are the picture of joy for a couple beginning what you are quietly ending. The mask fits so well that no one sees the crack running through the center of your chest.

You stand in the aisle, surrounded by celebration, feeling entirely alone in the wreckage of your own vows. But the light does not need your performance to find you.

It sees the tears you are swallowing behind the grin. It knows the silence you are carrying while the organ plays.

There is a truth living inside you that is bigger than this charade. You do not have to hold the pose for the light to love you.

It is already sitting beside you in the pew, waiting for the moment you can finally put the mask down.