I wrote this haiku on a whim yesterday. Thinking about the current state of the world, I thought about other people, like me, who seem to be crushed under the weight of their own empathy. News stories that talk about war-weary refuges, children suffering from disease, hateful attacks by humans against other humans… it’s depressing and disheartening. But here’s the great thing about humanity: In the midst of all this war and sadness and pain, there are extraordinary stories of people who reach out, in big ways and small, and they change lives every day with their love and kindness. Sometimes it feels like I’m a sponge, soaking up the pain and unhappiness around me, but I refuse to close my eyes to what is happening in the world. I will fight on.

this delicate soul
won’t shatter, it expands to
soak up the world’s pain

*