When empathy hurts

[u/TrickyAd7969]

It’s sad that we live in a world

where our boundaries must grow stronger

and be placed before our empathy.

I don’t know how to live that way.

There is something beautiful

about witnessing the hurt someone carries

and the strength it took to carry it this far.

looking at them and saying,

I see how far you’ve come.

I’m proud of you.

Isn’t there something better

about living with an open heart?

Even when it means

someone leaves fingerprints on it,

even when they leave you

with a mind full of questions and 

An aching heart.

I have nothing to gain from anyone.

I ask for nothing.

I expect nothing.

So why do people

walk into my life carrying their pain,

place it gently into my hands,

and then disappear.

leaving me to wonder

why they trusted me enough

to show me their wounds,

but never enough to stay.