Haiku 1 – Absorption
You said, "I'm okay."But your eyes left bruises onevery word you spoke.
Poem: "I Pick Things Up"
I don't ask what's wrong.I don't push.
I watch the shift in your voice,the crack in your laugh,the pause before you type.
And without knowing it,I carry your sadnesslike a shadow I didn't earn—but couldn't leave behind.
One-line Reflection:
They didn't ask me to care. That's the problem—I did anyway.
Haiku 2 – Overwhelm
I don't cry for me.I cry when the weight of youtips my edges in.
Poem: "They Tell Me Things"
Strangers talk to me like I'm a locked roomthat somehow knows how to keep secrets.
And I do.
I carry stories like spare ribs—things broken inside other peoplethat never quite healed.
I don't give advice.I just listen until they feel lighter.
Then I go homeand sink under the weight of what they left behind.
One-line Reflection:
Empaths don't fix people. We just break slower than they do.
Haiku 3 – Boundaries
I feel everything.That's why I started settingdoors inside my chest.
Poem: "Without Asking"
You didn't noticeI stayed a little longerbecause you blinked too fast.
You didn't noticeI matched your energyto keep you from sinking.
You didn't noticethe way I let you winwhen I was already drowning.
And I'll never tell you.Because if I did,it wouldn't have been empathy.It would've been need.
One-line Reflection:
I never needed people to bleed for me. Just to notice when I did it quietly.