Sunt Lacrimme Rerum

Universal themes are hardly recognized
By people with issues so personally daunting
The blinders they wear of fear, anger, tension-
Seem to make them invisible to the world.

Empathy and sorrow feel so similar at times
We run the danger of becoming apathetic, and
At the whims of cruelly ordained non-sympathizers.

I can tell which phase someone is in their sorrow,
Recovery stage or hilt of anger.

When those with a crutch can arrive on time and
Outdo in competition healthier opponents, they have
Arrived at the final, positive step of their self-improvement.

It is a coin toss, though, with those people healthy, or not,
Who can always find an excuse to live a minimal experience,
Instead of, a rich and full one.

Never give someone who is capable of something a way out of it,
If they did not request a way out.

There is an illusion in our world
For those involved with suffering,
That a majority of our populace
Is unfeeling, uncaring,
And without remorse.

The truth I have found in this,
Is that the people who ignore or belittle others pain
Are the ones who are most fearful of it.
They believe if they feel empathy toward people suffering,
That suffering will rub off on them, in a kind of mythical,
Yet modern, fear of lepers, or of warts on toads.

I know, and I can tell when people do not believe
I am normal, or sane.

And yet, they are the ones locked behind charcoal eyes
That have not been ignited with the fact that anyone
Can appear strange, abnormal, or obscene if enough
Other people simply agree to believe it is so.

-I toss out handkerchiefs occasionally,
To the pitifully small, fearful members of our community
Who have rallied around their normality like geeks
Around a chickens carcass.

-And, if they toss coins or other useful items
Back at me, that is better than the handful of vomit
I was handed when I believed myself healthy, and capable,
And they did not believe me.

We must remember, while remaining empathetic, those of us who
Carry bags of pod seeds around with us everywhere we go,
That revulsion is really the least of our worries, in a world
Lacking of forgiveness, waiting to take advantage of the weak,
The weak-minded, the faint bodied, and the back-stabbed.

Revulsion at sorrow is a sin to be forgiven.

But, remember Hamlet, there is a man behind the curtain
Who is listening to you.

And, your choice should not be so difficult.

-To be, To be known-

We always want to be known to the world, but especially,
To those who did not have faith in us.