I hate to repeat myself, but again, wow.  Thank you.  First for taking the time to reply and then again for all the words of encouragement.  I greatly appreciate it.

I'm very sorry that you had a breakup recently, but, as your poem states, times will get better - you will become a stronger person and life will continue! :) I would definitely suggest writing as a means of dealing with emotions, especially since you're already good at it! There's a saying about the three greatest things in life: the first you can only think about, the second you can only write about, and the third you can talk about. There are things in life - abstract thoughts, ideas, emotions - that we can only express through writing. Language is the medium between our ideas and the world, and by exploring it we can explore our own relationship with what is around us. So go for it! Write, and in doing so learn, express, and let go. Don't let tears drown you - let them wash away the pain! Keep on living and writing, and always know that you're not sitting "alone" - I'm rooting for you!

Wow, thanks for the kind words and for the reference.  I actually wrote this when I was about 18 or 19 (about 27 years ago) for a platonic girl friend that had gone through a rough breakup.  The intent being to try and help her see her grief as part of a path forward.  Recently, I had a breakup of my own and am having a hard time with it and for some reason I recalled this piece.  I changed it up a tiny bit to fit my circumstances a little better, but it is 95% the same.  I don't really write and while I have a few others, this one was always the one I felt seemed the least amateurish. Thank you also for the encouragement to keep on.  Perhaps this could be an outlet for me to express some things and do some letting go of my own.  Thank you again.

I really like this poem! It beautifully expresses the sadness and hope after the death of a loved one. The flow for the most part is really nice, and I liked the repetition at the end. It reminded me of an [Emily Dickinson poem](http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/after-great-pain-a-formal-feeling-comes/), which, while it has a much different format, shares a similar meaning. It talks about the shock and numbness one experiences after great pain, which the narrator in your poem is overcoming. S/he is currently "letting go" of the pain, as Dickinson calls it. I think it would be interesting for you to look at her interpretation vs yours, and how you both express it differently. Overall, very nice work! Keep on writing!

Thank you.  The repetition was probably my favorite part for the very reasons you pointed out.

I really like how this poem finishes in the same way that it begins.  It very purely reflects the purpose of the speaker's present suffering.  I am relieved that the speaker is optimistic about a new love one day, but also that he/she is mourning.  Even though the future might be prosperous, it hurts now.

> I am not sure I feel as you do that it dismisses the progress. I will consider it

You shouldn't feel like you need to change anything. The viewpoints we (commenters) present allow you to see your work through our eyes, but it's worth remembering our vision isn't perfect :)

Thank you.  I understand what you are saying about the ending, though I am not sure I feel as you do that it dismisses the progress.  I will consider it though and I appreciate your taking the time to give me so much of your input.  I really do appreciate it.
  
Regarding the capitalization and punctuation, I agree, I struggled with that.  I was not sure the best way to handle it, honestly, so a more grammatical approach won out. 


I like it. I think the short lines work well to reflect the emotional turmoil the narrator must be experiencing.

I both like and dislike the ending. I like that it connects back to the beginning, but the way it's written, it almost dismisses the progress you make in the previous three lines. I wish you'd said something more like like "But for now I sit, alone, crying.", or in some other way reaffirmed that while the crying is necessary, it is just a temporary state.

My only critique is with your punctuation and capitalization. It seems like you're trying to keep it grammatically correct, but with the line breaks I feel it comes out a little chaotic (and if that's the goal, then that's fine, but to me it seems to clash a bit with the calm and reflective tone of the poem).

My personal belief is that capitalization and punctuation in a poem are most effective when used to embellish and provide meaning, not to fulfill grammatical requirements.

I do think I see what you are getting at.   The questions you posed are not something I'd ever considered addressing in this.  They will require a good bit of introspection on my part, which I believe will itself be a good thing for me.  Thank you for your comments and insight.  

I'm learning about abstract words in school so this is the reason I bring this up, so with that in mind, take the words "love" and "happiness" for example: 

when you use these words I get a sense of what you're going for but I don't see the whole picture (literally). I'd like you to think about what that happiness was for the narrator and how did they know it was love? How is the narrator learning to live without the other? Just by the crying or is there something more? What happens in their life as it "goes on"? Answer these questions within your piece and it can give more of an impact. 

People can relate to love and happiness, but much more to a specific moment like the very first time you touched your grandma's dry, time-wrinkled hands who washed the dishes which you ate warm food off of. You realize that without saying "I love you", the feeling is still there. You can see the point I'm trying to describe, right? Really search deep for those images. There are great emotions in thi

This is fantastic!  Well written and good imagery. 

The only thing I saw about the writing, was that at the end, the flow seemed to falter a bit.  It started down, and then got motivational, as you gained strength.  But at the end, it abruptly fell back down to the bummer portion.  
I would probably add a line that was something like "each teardrop strengthens me.  Like a waterfall.  Pain is mixed with growth."

Or something like that.  You get what I'm saying.  I'm bad at explaining these sorts of things.

Overall, I like it.  It's a bummer, but it's motivational and gives hope for the future.

Here I sit,  
alone,  
crying.  
Each teardrop reminding me   
of the happiness and love we shared.  
Each teardrop reminding me  
of how it all ended.  
These tears I shed,  
are for both of us.  
For I have lost a lover and a friend.  
And I cry for you  
and your need to say goodbye.  
Slowly these tears wash away  
the pain I feel inside.  
I am learning to live without you.  
My life goes on.  
I know in time, I will find love again  
and this emptiness I feel will be gone.  
Even now my heart is mending  
and I am growing stronger.  
I will live again,  
I will love again.  
Each teardrop strengthens me.  
So here I sit,  
alone,  
crying.


https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/5dfy07/1209_am_poem/da5934w/
https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/5denrq/hate_this_word/da59ndy/

Teardrops