This story has been submitted by Avisha K for the CLATGyan Blog Post Writing Competition. If you think this article is a good read, ‘Like’ this article on Facebook (the button is at the bottom of this piece) or post a comment using the ‘comments’ section below.
Apes evolved into humans,
Emotions developed.
Anger and love, the genesis of all.
Of pain, of joy,
Of grief, of ecstasy.
Joy; the blanket, in which I am,
The warmth, the glee.
Grief; when I was left…
All alone to suffer.
Agony; when I wanted,
But all I could do was crave.
Sympathy; when I saw,
The little child helplessly weep.
Pain; when I fell, when I stumbled,
Down to the nadir.
And empathy; which hits me the strongest,
Empathy, and lo! Rise the tempest.
A helpless creature kicked around,
And I feel its pain,
I feel it drown.
A stinging disease stuck on one.
But he doesn’t have a man’s words,
Why would we listen?
And I am the dog, I feel.
Empathy doest that to you.
You put on, their shoes.
I saw an ambulance
Stuck in traffic,
An ailing mother, agonized son.
And again, I am stuck!
Their helplessness rises in me.
The agony of the son.
There is nothing I can do, I look away.
But the sound of the siren haunts me,
Tears me down!
Empathy, I hate you!
You’ve given me pain which is not even mine!
But Empathy, I love you!
You remind me of the existence of humankind.
You remind me of how human I am.
Eat, mate and sleep-an animal’s trait.
And life, it gave us humans – emotions, a little too much.
Switching to what suits me.
Pessimism, not my forte,
Optimism, yes! That’s my realm.
So, I pick up a shovel, and I dig,
A lot of love, joy and happiness.
A pinch of anger for balance.
A bucketful of empathy
To remind me I’m human.
Confusion, irritation, grief and hope.
I pick, I pick up all.
And blooms a smile.
For I guess, these are the cards,
Which life gifted me.
So with all that I have,
I shall pick them up.
And I will, definitely survive…
[…] That Thing Called Empathy – by Avisha […]