"And she dreams of sunflowers bent over, frozen in the snow, and thinks 'Colorado.' But then plays her life back in slow motion, to keep in touch with that raw emotion. In the night, crushed empty can, Olive Oyle's waiting for her man to come in from the fight that will change their life for good this time....When all of your tears dry, let your troubles roll by. When all of your tears dry, let your troubles roll by. When all of your tears dry, let your troubles roll by, let your troubles roll by." ~carbon leaf

That refrain, "When all of your tears dry, let your troubles roll by," really calls out to me. Because it's not saying 'Don't cry;' instead it acknowledges that you're going to cry, and that's okay. For some reason it always reminds me of John Milton's Lycidas. It's such a beautiful and bittersweet poem, but the end especially gets me. I love this part: "There entertain him all the Saints above,/In solemn troops, and sweet Societies/That sing, and singing in their glory move,/And wipe the tears for ever from his eyes." That line, "And wipe the tears for ever from his eyes," is just so sad. It's an allusion to Revelation 7:17, "...and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." But Milton's addition of "for ever" makes it heartbreaking because it suggests a continual wiping of tears; the tears don't end. It coincides with the cycle introduced in the first line, "Yet once more...." and emphasizes the "Ay me!" that really sticks out to me. The poem is just brilliant; it's one of my absolute favorite poems. I used to have the first stanza memorized; I should go back and see how well it stuck.

Sorry, that's all I've got for today. I guess I'm in an academic mood. See, this is what happens when you listen to your iPod on shuffle. A random song that I haven't listened to in awhile comes on and it somehow inspires me to think about a poem that I love. That's why I love the shuffle feature, though; you never know what you're gonna get.
It seems like I'm posting more often now, so hopefully I'll come up with something more interesting soon. But go read "Lycidas." At least a few times. Or scroll down and listen to the M. Ward songs I posted.