Jean Prokott
Empathy Is a Pre-Existing Condition
we can neither insure or assure you & others,
this is the system by design. a doctor died
by suicide. we say keep your composure. we say
it’s not that bad. your empathy is a cold egg,
hold it in your hands, place it in warm water,
crack it open, get rid of it, and start over. send
yourself to rehab for kindness and hope insurance
covers it. the cure is close the door and turn off
the light so no one knows you’re home. post your
empathy online #nofilter. learn to respond:
Am I My Brother’s Keeper? this is not sustainable.
one day, there will be a word for this, a national
diagnosis. some say it’s over-reactive. others say it’s
normal. we say it’s empathy, and only some of us had it.
—Submitted on 05/19/2020
Jean Prokott‘s poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Arts & Letters, Anomaly, RHINO, and Red Wheelbarrow, among other journals. She lives in Rochester, Minn. Online at jeanprokott.com.
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