Empath's Prayer

when you can, heal
when you can’t, rest

when you’re lost, seek grounded earth,

touch velvet, smell citrus, taste the salt

of your tears for you are an ocean, you 

are more than your parts and none of 

yourself simultaneously. 

you are the colors of the shallows, and

the stillness of the depths, you are life

affirming and overwhelming, both a

siren’s call and solace.

to hold this in your palms,

demands a strength few will understand, 

many will fear, and even more will seek

out to quench their own insatiable thirst.

it is both burden and gift,

you who can choose to drown or sustain

the world of emotions around you, who

can host entire quiet worlds or crash onto

the earth and demand attention in silence. 

when you can’t, rest

when you can, heal