Childhood Empathy

childhood
empathy

we
have experienced

a
parallel life of pain

side
by side as playmates

living
the same horrors

yours
worse than mine

unknowing
until late

that
our missed childhood’s

were
the same

both
of our fates

we
cried together

when
we learned

each
had been hurt

your road took you to denial

mine
the noise to tell to heal

have
you stopped running?

have
you begun to heal?

to
shed your pain and shame?

the
guilt and shame

it
does not belong to you

learn
to give it back

oh
dear friend

what
a wondrous feeling

scary
but adventurous

to
let go and grow

so
light and free

standing
tall

let
go of the baggage

live
life to its fullest

learn
who you really are

not
what others want you to be

cold
reality cold reality

your
voice closed the miles

just
for a moment or two

the
warmth and friendliness

caring,
alive and real

like
a bon file in the dead of winter

then
it happened...

click

loud,
cold and hard

reality
closes back in -

the
dial tone unfolded

in
between miles

tears
of loneliness

and
abandonment

filling
the empty eyes

missing
you hurts deep

though
you are only a call away

and
the voice is only temporary

reality
will set in

like
an ice berg in my soul.