TO CATCH A TEAR

Do you
know God
puts all your
tears in a
bottle?

TEARS IN A BOTTLE COLLECTION
Caryl Ramsdale, American Poet

And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father’s house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Go’-shen. And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company. And they came to the threshingfloor of A’-tad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made mourning for his father seven days. GENESIS 50:7-10 KJV

TO CATCH A TEAR
A Tears in a Bottle Collection Signature Poem.
to Cheryl Casey Clark and Ruby Casey Barger

Listen, hear the story I’ve told
That’s attached to grief and distress;
It's how some handled bereavement
When they put on a mourning dress.
The legend of the tear bottle
Was set in motion long ago;
During ancient Roman times
Its custom expressed deep sorrow.
Mourners would fill glass vials with
Woeful tears they’d cry and collect;
Tears were sentimental tokens
Symbolic of love and respect.
Sometimes women were paid to cry
When they joined the funeral line
Loudest weepers shedding most tears
Gained the most coins every time.
The showy mourning processions
Measured the deceased person’s worth
By captured teardrops, anguish cries
And agonizing friends on earth.
The traditional tear bottle
That was placed as a fine showpiece
In someone’s burial tomb
Would conclude the death release.
Nobody seems to know just when,
Not the day, the date, nor the year;
But reference predates Christ’s birth,
For bottles made to catch a tear.

© Copyright 1999-2007 Caryl Ramsdale. All rights reserved.

Midi "A NEW DAY" permission
Copyright© by Composer John Torp of Sweden John Torp's Music from Laura's MIDI Heaven

July 08, 2003