Tired Empathy Poem by Jayne Doe

I found a friend whose heart hurts as much as mine
And we lie to one another when we say that it's fine
And that night will turn to day if we sit and pray
While closing the door when it comes
Because we don't know how to welcome it in.
We don't know how to be anything but what we are
Lost and lonely
Hurting in a world that smiles in pain
And begs for more, more, MORE.
And they'll ask why we cry
As they wait to just die
In front of a screen
Showing them what they could be
If they'd just get up and try once in a while.
But only we see them growing numb
And their pain becomes our own
Because we see it and feel it
Once for ourselves
And one more time for all the others
Carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders
Though its our hearts that crumble under its weight
Waiting for us to shove it off or let it go
But we can't because we're stuck with knowing.
We just can't let it go.
So hand in hand we walk alone
Knowing nobody's home
Even when they're answering their doors
And asking us to come in
And pretty soon we smile like the rest of them
Just to feel like we fit in
But we don't
Because their smiles are smiles
And ours is just a lie.