I suffer from secondhand sorrow.

When other people's problems
weigh on you
like a beast.

When you ache and weep and wilt
under the pressure
of someone else's strife.

Secondhand sorrow
grips around the throat
clutches in the stomach
and beats the mind to grains.

All the while a guilt festers
in the havoc of my soul
because secondhand sorrow
weighs on my mind
while it should be free
to care about you.