Poetry often serves as a way for people to voice the emotions that they might otherwise keep inside--to come to terms with unexpressed feelings and bring them out into the open. In The Color of My Tears, author Deborah Owens presents a collection of verse that does that and more. These poems can transport you to another time and place--fifteenth-century England, the Harlem Renaissance, or the sixties and seventies. Using a romantic imagination, Owens explores experiences and memories, both good and bad, happy and sad, reveling in the ups and downs of love and life. She builds a collage of emotion in her verses, providing a unique poetic journey. Bitter Pain of Laughter If the truth be told, you had no love for me. I cried; you laughed. At my pain, you laughed. And though I hurt, you turned your face. I could not help but feel the volume of your laughter, for it pierced my soul. I screamed in agony while you laughed. It was as if my pain meant nothing to you. All that I asked of you was that you would not torment me so, but that just made you laugh even more.