Learning To Care Again Poem by JAMES T. ADAIR

There is an emptiness sometimes
That nothing can touch or heal
its something we carry inside
Something only we individually feel
Could be the scars of some past deal
A heart crushed as if by a boot heel
Be it sadness or anguish or pain
Memory of lost love or love in vain
Maybe the loneliness of betrayal
or the guilt trying over again, only to fail
Sometimes we feel so hollow and frail
Like a boat on a ocean without any sail
Like hammer and wood without a nail
Locked in jail, unable to post bail
Could be abandonment or broken trust
Seeing something once shiny turn to rust
But whatever it is we hold the injury inside
Long after we've lost our pride
And all we have left is this empty place
That we find it harder and harder to face
Hard to find a smile anyplace
And even if we should it's hard to trust again
We think back and sadly remember when
Our hearts were open and free
Even if it was brief and not really to be
When things were open ended
And it was easier to dream
Before we realized things lose their sheen
And aren't always what they seem
Once innocence was real and not just a dream
But you can only carry these things so long
Sometimes you're touched by the words of a song
And realize you understand sadness so well
Because you've lived through your own hell
And though your heart is weary you dream anyway
If only for a few minutes in a passing way
Sooner or later you are touched by someone like you
You can see right through to their blue
And feel it inside too
That's when you find you still have a heart
Even though shattered and broken apart
And to this someone you give away just a part
To help them to their feet to try another start
And the minute you begin to forgive
Is the minute you begin to give
Every now and then you find a friend
and begin to comprehend
That on any day you can begin to feel
In humility you must kneel
For kindness to really be real
And once in a while without expectation
Life hands you grace as sweet consolation
And peace begins to touch the empty void
In ways you can't ignore or avoid
As a smile might spontaneously grow
Because you learn eventually
No matter how unkind life is or how unfair
You can only try and be brave to care
You only reap what you sow
And only through giving care and kindness
Will happiness ever show
God is at work in little things
And all angels don't necessarily have wings
Sooner or later we return to dust
So until then, keep trying we must