Kannst du mir helfen?

So, I'm trying to translate a poem, and this line has stumped me:

Alten Tanten
und Wickelkindern rollt die Zähre
ins Taschentuch ob dieser Märe.

I think it means (quite literally): Old aunts and swaddled babies roll their teardrops in purses, if this story [is true?].

This is the whole poem, for the sake of context:

Weihnachten
Erich Mühsam (1878-1934)

Nun ist das Fest der Weihenacht,
das Fest, das alle glücklich macht,
wo sich mit reichen Festgeschenken
Mann, Weib und Greis und Kind bedenken,
wo aller Hader wird vergeßen
beim Christbaum und beim Karpfeneßen; --
und Groß und Klein und Arm und Reich, --
an diesem Tag ist alles gleich.
So steht's in vielerlei Varianten
in deutschen Blättern. Alten Tanten
und Wickelkindern rollt die Zähre
ins Taschentuch ob dieser Märe.
Papa liest's der Familie vor,
und alle lauschen und sind Ohr ...
Ich sah, wie so ein Zeitungsblatt
ein armer Kerl gelesen hat.
Er hob es auf aus einer Pfütze,
daß es ihm hinterm Zaune nütze.

Savannah cats!

For Christmas, maybe?

http://www.a1savannahs.com/savannahs.htm

The Beatles- "In My Life"

There are places I remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all

But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never ever lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more

Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more

Have I ever mentioned how I love, love, love snow? It's one of the most beautiful things ever.

Today a teacher brought his dog's puppies to school, in an effort to give them away. There were four Rhodesian Ridgeback/ Black Lab pups in the bed of his truck, all 6 weeks old, and if I was less sensible I would have taken one home in an instant. After New Zealand, Andres and I will get a pup for sure. I have always loved Australian Cattle Dogs, but I'm open to anything . . .

My uncle died over a year ago, on December 2, 2006. That was such a bad time for so many reasons. I'm just grateful to be where I am now.

Andres' mom loaned me The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, by Anne Fadiman. It's about a Hmong child with epilepsy, and the culture collision that occurred when her parents sought treatment at a California hospital. So far, it's captivating. The author says about herself in the preface:

"I have always felt that the action most worth watching it not at the center of things but where edges meet. I like shorelines, weather fronts, international borders. There are interesting frictions and incongruities in these places, and often, if you stand at the point of tangency, you can see both sides better than if you were in the middle of either one."

I like that perspective.