Pipette

The account of his tears was not, as yet,
      enough for a story—
      more a briefest vignette.
He bottled them up and meted them out
      like a precious treasure
      that might see a drought.
But lately, it seems, a simple sunset
      or an old photo is
      enough to have him beset.
Press the bulb firmly, and cover the spout;
      let no drop escape
      or break though the grout.
As purpose meets hardship and sorrows beget
      hold fast to the calling
      that will never forget.

(Poetry Scales 125)