A Father’s Tears

No tears are seen in a father’s eyes,
Yet half of every glass he drinks
Is filled with tears no one can see.
A father is the loneliest of men.
A father may be a hero, and yet…
  — From A Father’s Heart by Kim Hyun-seung

Few of us have ever seen our fathers weep.
For a father’s tears seldom fall from his eyes. They find their way instead into the glass he raises to his lips, into the depths of a weary sigh, and into the profound silence he carries within.
More than forty years ago, as I was about to embark on my first journey to America, I saw my father’s tears for the first time at Gimpo Airport.
“A man should experience the world beyond his own country,” he told me, adding simply, “Have a good trip.”
But as he embraced his two-year-old grandson and turned away, I saw him struggle to hold back his tears.

Now that my father is gone, I have come to understand just how many tears must have filled those glasses he drank from.
Only with the passing of years did I realize that my father’s tears were the silent cries of a heart that had borne so much without a word.
If your father is still with you, offer him a few words of warmth while you can.
“Dad, I love you.”
“Dad, thank you for everything you have endured and sacrificed for us.”
Those simple words may be enough to gently wipe away the tears he has kept hidden for a lifetime.
    — From Dawn Light Letters by Ki Jun Kwon

Reflection of the Day

★A father’s tears do not always fall from his eyes. They dissolve into his glass, linger in his sighs, and disappear into the depths of his silence. Let us remember that even fathers, who so often stand as pillars of strength, sometimes need the warmth of a comforting word.★

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