The Color of Empathy

The Color of Empathy

It was in the early evening as the sun was going down

My muse showed up in silence and flitted all around.

It landed on my shoulder as I watched the sky transform

And the cool blue of daylight change to pink and scarlet warm.

I wanted to just sit and breathe and watch the changing sky,

And for just an intermission, let worries pass me by.

To revel in the joy of nature’s light and color show

As lavender suffused the pink with hues and tones aglow.

I wondered just how long, tonight, this glowing sight would hold.

Watching it play out in time was worth much more than gold.

Slowly, but too quickly, sunset’s colors would subdue

All the breathless radiance and shift to shades of blue.

In the dimming, ebbing light, the sky was royal blue

Suffused with streaks of navy and a bit of silver too.

My muse and I were silent as the colors faded out,

And we began to wonder what this life is all about.

People work and strive so hard for food and health and home.

A first job and a second, but the striving just goes on.

The Uncle Ben sounds an alarm, we reach and press the snooze.

Why not just stay here warm in bed? We’d have too much to lose.

Long hours and low wages…soon the bondage takes its toll.

We keep climbing uphill slowly toward our long-awaited goal.

In the silence of the dark night, my muse just could not sleep.

So many things to think about…I heard it start to weep.

The moon and stars illuminate the sky to royal blue

And remind me of the meaning of this distinctive hue.

The color stands for royalty, tranquility, and peace;

Truth, trust, and friendship, and blessed sweet release.

It can be reassuring, reliable, and calm.

Bringing to life’s tragedies and pain a welcome balm.

The color’s essence is all summed up in one word - empathy.

Incorporates and goes beyond the scope of sympathy.

Not only feeling deep concern for those who are distressed

Or feeling agitated, dejected, and depressed.

Oh, no! A sense of empathy goes further, deeper, stronger;

Allowing you to feel with them and bear their burden longer.

You feel with hungry children who will cry themselves to sleep,

For families in war zones where the terror runs so deep.

You suffer with the homeless seeking shelter for the night,

And know they did not choose this, and help them with the fight.

The news reports a group of boys stranded in a cave. They are half a world away…frantic plans are made to save

And return them to their families and homes, but will it be?

You listen and fight panic swelling up with empathy;

And for a time you’re in that cave, hungry, cold and scared.

All you can really do is pray, so your soul is bared.

You feel the boundless joy of every sibling, Mom and Dad,

When they once again can put their arms around their precious lad.

My muse and I reflected on the year just gone by.

And had no choice but to be still and help each other cry.

The whole world has been suffering - and still is today

From a thing called a pandemic that is stealing lives away.

Hope on the horizon with treatments and vaccine

Helps us to believe there’s an end to this bad dream.

We thought about it through the night. We watched the new sunrise,

Exulted in the colors and radiance in the skies.

Darkness yielded up its gloom from deep to royal blue

And the red and gold of sunrise restored our faith anew.

Thank you, little muse, for spending time with me

And helping write this little poem about our Empathy!