Empathy Poem by Bonnie Shipman

I catch you crying
in the closet,
and wonder
what has gone wrong.

Is your heart broken
by a cruel bully?
or mis-shapen
after a stray arc of loneliness hit you?
did I hurt you somehow,
and not realize?
where are your friends
anyway?
you have some
you know.
didn't you know?
I would be your friend
if you wanted...

You see me open the door
and shake your head.
so I step into your darkness
close it again
cry with you.