the differences between

arrogance and confidence,

pessimism and practicalism,

who betrayed who, and

what someone said and what you think they said,

can save your life,

free up your life,

from you living with

the defensive skull on top of the neck

and its the in-the-face dread

weighing down

swamping

sinking

sunk

grinds down empathy

into hard brittle

sharp edged chunks.

©️January 2025 Much Love, Deb Poems

What is why empathy feels so trampled on? Our fear of death stomps on it.