Watching it All Play Out
I wanted to understand
so I put on your pain shoes
and let you transmit your experience
direct to my being
You used words but I felt meaning
and while i tried to integrate
another’s excruciating existence
you kept on speaking
way beyond need
“I get it, I feel it”
but accustomed to ignorance
you continued…
If you would stop
I could rid us both
of this…
these shoes hurt my feet
and your memories my being
yet knowing this you continue
a litany of woes
the tale of everyone and anything
that you felt had done you wrong
beyond any forgiveness
I finally realized
you don’t want to lose your pain
you don’t wish understanding
and you hate me for presuming to help
How dare I try to take away what makes you real to yourself?
I smile sadly
as the shoes slip off….
Another mile in another’s moccasins…
Another mile in my own….
— G A Rosenberg
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