Empathy is the key to our society some say
put yourself in their shoes they say

but I do

I do it too much.
I feel for them too much.

Every time I see their tears
its a punch to the chest
it shatters my glass ribs
and punctures my nylon heart.

But to my own tears,
to my own suffering
I feel nothing.
still.
dry.
numb.

Maybe I am a mirror
only reflecting the pain I see.

Or maybe I have been told
it's weak to cry
cowardly to feel bad for myself
nerveless to struggle.

So I continue to cry for the broken
hurt for the rejected
and ache for the beaten

leaving nothing left for myself.