there was a time before tears—but really,
was there a time before tears? some time in
evolution between the monkey and me?
did Cro-Magnon cry; when/if they did,
did their burly friends call them sissy-boy?
and the Neanderthal folks, did they cry?
so maybe it really is a Homo thing
to do beginning with antecessor
and continuing up to our contemp-
orary sapiens sapiens (one tier
up from Homo sapiens idaltu)—
how is it we learned to think our way past
tears, emotions, reactions, and on to
solutions as in the time before tears.

DM Pitchford 4/24