Empathy

I would call it deja vu if the details weren't so clear

As both of us stood on the wrong side pf the stained glass.

Me in my "Sunday's Best"

You in the best you've got.

Both of us facing the worst.

Both us us tired of the apologies and embraces overlaid with a pretense of empathy



The sort that surfaces only after  that ambulance ride, that hospital stay, that final phone call that silences the entire room

The sort of empathy that plays itself like a broken record player.

"I'm sorry for...s-s-sorry for your...I'm sorry"

It jerks along with awkward hugs and pity-filled smiles

"I'm sorry..."

But even worse is how we respond in a pretense of gratefulness