I Come From a Place of Empathy
by Sabila Siddiqui
I come from a place of empathy
where perception
is a mix of colors
of her, his and their
perspectives.
I come from a place of empathy
where ears are made of patience,
drums sensitive to the change in wavelength,
de-weaving complexity
into simplicity.
I come from a place of empathy
where the emotions that lacerate
the heart – sliced –
run parallel through me.
You lock into my embrace,
finding the comfort of compassion
amongst the rusty and scraping conditions.
When you project anger, fear, and angst,
I start dissecting your past,
your rearing,
justifying and understanding,
the origins of the
hand and experiences
that shaped you.
You render your mind open
as I step in,
walking among the stars, darkness
and the turbulent waves crashing within.
Your emotions tingle my skin,
and linger within me
as I understand your wor(l)d apart,
developing a cross-cultural understanding
and objectifying subjectivity.
Though I begin to understand
the origins stemming of your being,
swaying with your words
and hazing in the paradox of your being.
I choose to succumb to gravity,
and remain sturdy on certain beliefs.
Sabila (@sabila.siddiqui) is a desert-raised islander with roots in Pakistan who’s pursuing medicine in the United Arab Emirates. She values the importance of outreach in medical care and has journeyed to the wondrous world of writing; letting her words take the forms of poetry, short stories and articles. She believes in the importance of empathy, social justice, advocacy of mental health care and the need for puns and memes to enlighten one’s spirit. When she’s not glued to a screen or a textbook, she can be found volunteering, illustrating, clicking the world and indulging in an entertaining book while sipping on green tea and possibly imagining herself surrounded by cats.