tears, weep, cry
泪 centers on the physical expression of sorrow: tears, weeping, and crying. It is the visible water that comes from the eyes when one is sad.
泪 is a variant form of 涙. It combines 氵 (water) with 目 (eye), directly depicting water from the eye, i.e., tears.
Water 氵 flows from the eye 目: 泪 is tears.
For ルイ, imagine a weeping eye that looks like a ruined painting: ruined -> ルイ, and the tears ruin the view.