Please Feel Sorry For Yourself Poem by Hans Ostrom

Stop feeling sorry for yourself: Such
a tedious rebuke. Often followed
by words about gratitude or
comparative well being.

I encourage you to feel sorry
for yourself. Feel sorry for other
people, too, but save some for yourself.

Properly calibrated, self-sympathy
dulls disappointment's edge. It can
soothe depression when you're lying
there staring into your mind--a dark,
fishless aquarium.

The pleasure of self-pity
is under-rated. Indeed I think
some people try to shame you
out of it because they think
you might be enjoying it.
I feel sorry for them.