by Lynne Barnes
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Empathy is the fundamental weakness of Western civilization.
—Elon Musk
I can't stand the word empathy, actually. I think empathy is a made-up, new-age term that does a lot of damage.
—Charlie Kirk
I hate my opponents, and I don’t want the best for them.
—Donald Trump, President of the United States, at a memorial service for Charlie Kirk
Empathy: the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another…The first known use of empathy was in 1909
—Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Woke: aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice); first known use, 1925.
—Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Yes, I am woke,
and I hear you speaking out
from a dream, talking in your sleep.
I’m afraid to shake you, I know you
startle easily.
I’m not sure what to do.
As you yell at me from your dream,
I’m afraid my voice, my touch
might trigger you to kick out,
hurt me.
I’m not sure what to do.
In your dream state, you shout
about erasing my Me
that I struggled so hard to free.
I’m not sure what to do.
Yes, I am woke and
I love the word empathy—
I too have talked in my sleep.
I feel you.
Lynne Barnes is a lesbian and a retired psychiatric nurse and librarian. Born in Augusta, Georgia, she has lived in San Francisco since 1969. Her poetry memoir, Falling into Flowers (Blue Light Press, 2017) was a finalist for the 2018 Eric Hoffer Book Award.
