Secondhand Empathy Poem by Raj Dronamraju

In faded shirts, they haven't faded away nor fooled anyone
With veiled concern only occasionally real like the skips on a record
How far they've come is the distance utilized to fool themselves
How far I've come from waiting for anticipation
Let's get this over with
You'll never be able to act out a real human relationship

She's the most unattractive girl I've ever met
And if they peeled back the surface state, she wouldn't get any better
That's how far down that unattractiveness goes
A total assault on a casual acquaintance and her spree started in a department store full of discounted pity

I know how you feel no longer is to know at all
Now has the same robotic tone as a greeting - How was your weekend?
Did the icicle break and refuse to melt at the point of where it pierced?
Prepped this unnatural respect for others and felt tainted by the effort to repeat back things you disagreed with
I don't approve at all of the way you live your life but I'll repeat your tales of self-destruction back to you

Counseled by exhaustion, they raided already empty coffers
A bottomless hunger for this kind of content - the misfortune of others
In case you have one last tear to wring out of already spent sorrow
She's got something to relate of the terrible decisions she made in life