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A Curse Called Empathy

Deborah Burris-Kitchen

Free Verse
A Curse Called Empathy

I am a vacant room with broken windows—
A cage disguised as sanctuary.
I welcome storms, arms wide open.
Lightning strikes; I call it love.
Rainwater fills my lungs; I drown.

Sadness, a parasite gnawing at my veins.
It clings to my heart,
Swollen, suffocating.
A tide rises; I sink beneath it.

Anger coils around my ribs like barbed wire,
Twisting tighter with every betrayal,
Every lie I ache to believe.
I want to scream, stop scamming me.
But all that escapes is silence—raw.

I trust. I’m a fool; the game is fixed—
Betting my life
On a pair of deuces.
I give and give until I am no more,
Bones picked clean,
A ghost haunting me in my skin.

Empathy is a curse.
I bleed for everyone I meet,
A river of red, yet no one notices me.
I am too much, they tell me.
Too weak. Too small. Too needy. Too broken.
Never am I enough.

I am tired. So tired.
Some days, I am nothing, ashes swirling in the wind—
A burned-out star, long dead,
Clinging to the memory of its light.

And yet, here I am,
Still standing. Barely breathing. Still shattered.
Still waiting to survive the crash that never ends.
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Written on February 09, 2025

Submitted by dburriskitchen on February 10, 2025

1:13 min read
529

Quick analysis:

Scheme A BACXX XXXX XXXAX XXBXXX XXAACX DXXX XDX
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,128
Words 244
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 1, 5, 4, 5, 6, 6, 4, 3
Full analysis for A Curse Called Empathy »

Deborah Burris-Kitchen

Deborah J. Burris-Kitchen, Ph.D., is a Professor of Criminology at Tennessee State University in Nashville. She is the author of Female Gang Participation (Edwin Mellen Press, 1997). In addition, she co-authored an article on racism in higher education in the College Student Journal (2000). Her publications include a book titled Short Rage: An Autobiographical Look at Heightism in America (2002). She has a book chapter (July 2010) titled Pathways to Prison: Implications for the Health and Mental Health in the African American Community in Handbook for African American Health Psychology: Evidence-based Treatment and prevention practices (edited by Robert Hampton & Ray Crowell); From Slavery to Prisons: A Historical Delineation of the Criminalization of African Americans (2010); a journal article titled Short Rage Revisited (2018); Deviance and Control, Kendall and Hunt (2020) a second edition of Deviance and Control was released by Kendall and Hunt in 2021 and a book of short stories and poetry titled Exposed published by Atmosphere Press 2023. Dr. Burris-Kitchen has served as the research committee chair and Vice President of the National Organization of Short-Statured Adults (NOSSA). She is a member of Phi Kappa Phi. She has served as President of the Association of Humanist Sociology (AHS) and was a member of AHS for many years. She has also been a member of the American Society of Criminology and the American Sociological Association. Dr. Burris–Kitchen is an activist who fights against violence, racism, exploitation, greed, and capitalism. more…

All Deborah Burris-Kitchen poems | Deborah Burris-Kitchen Books

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16 Comments
  • RVN
    RVN
    wow
    LikeReply 128 days ago
  • BellaTheMilkCarton
    BellaTheMilkCarton
    :0
    LikeReply 129 days ago
  • yelskwah
    yelskwah
    "A Curse Called Empathy" is a powerful and moving exploration of the complexities of empathy and the emotional toll it can take. You've captured the raw and often overwhelming experience of feeling deeply for others, 
    LikeReply 129 days ago
  • sharona.reeves81
    sharona.reeves81
    the title resonated - I knew the poetry would - wonderful job - beautiful piece.
    LikeReply 129 days ago
    • dburriskitchen
      dburriskitchen
      Thank you. I appreciate your kind words. I am glad you liked it.
      LikeReply29 days ago
  • Heyjude
    Heyjude
    Just beautiful, the imagery is vivid and delightful, very good.
    LikeReply1 month ago
  • Symmetry60
    Symmetry60
    As an empath myself I found this piece movingly perfect and perfectly moving. You're a brilliant writer, Deb. I absolutely love this piece. Every line offers its own unique profundity. One of the better pieces I've ever read for my taste. 
    LikeReply 11 month ago
    • deborahb.97371
      deborahb.97371
      Thank you so much for your kind words
      LikeReply1 month ago
  • StylesRobin
    StylesRobin
    Brilliantly vivid, reminds me of experience for synesthesia with a fluidity of thought process that just illustrates perfectly why it hurts to feel and why to be that way is wonder.
    LikeReply1 month ago
  • RickthePoetWarrior
    RickthePoetWarrior
    I like it, but I think stanza five should lead the poem. it made more sense to me that way. Just an opinion though.
    LikeReply 11 month ago
    • dburriskitchen
      dburriskitchen
      Thank you for that. I will play around with the organization of the stanzas. I see how it would make sense to start out with the fifth stanza.
      LikeReply1 month ago
  • ThembieAngieeMt
    ThembieAngieeMt
    This is raw and powerful, full of aching honesty. The emotions hit hard, especially the lines about trust and exhaustion. There’s a quiet resilience woven through the pain, which makes it all the more moving. A beautifully written reflection of struggle and survival. 
    LikeReply1 month ago
    • dburriskitchen
      dburriskitchen
      Thank you for your kind remarks regarding my poem. I appreciate it.
      LikeReply1 month ago
  • philmaund
    philmaund
    I agree with susan.brummel. Those were my favorite lines in a very powerful piece. Bottom line: empaths need good boundaies!
    LikeReply 11 month ago
    • dburriskitchen
      dburriskitchen
      Thank you. I appreciate your feedback :0
      LikeReply 11 month ago
  • susan.brumel
    susan.brumel
    ‘A burned-out star, long dead,
    Clinging to the memory of its light.’
    This is my favorite line of a most compelling poem. Thank you for sharing it with us. I believe there are many empaths on this site who can relate to it. 
    LikeReply1 month ago
    • dburriskitchen
      dburriskitchen
      Thank you. I appreciate your feedback.
      LikeReply1 month ago
  • Akinpet23
    Akinpet23
    Emotional.

    "I am too much.,they tell me.
    Too weak.Too small.Too needy".
    LikeReply1 month ago
  • Le_Mestre
    Le_Mestre
    Very good
    LikeReply1 month ago
  • 7lomy
    7lomy
    Beautifully written!
    LikeReply1 month ago
  • ladyygracious
    ladyygracious
    Nice
    LikeReply1 month ago
  • mark.e.s
    mark.e.s
    icu
    LikeReply1 month ago

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"A Curse Called Empathy" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 16 Mar. 2025. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/212970/a-curse-called-empathy>.

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