Empath's Echo

I wake to whispers not my own, Heavy hearts, a constant drone. Their sorrows seep into my veins, Uninvited, yet it remains. A glance, a sigh—a silent plea, A storm that finds its home in me. A weight I carry, deep and wide, No place to run, nowhere to hide. Joy appears but isn’t mine, A fleeting glimmer, thin as twine. While anguish roots and digs in deep, Robbing me of precious sleep. A thousand voices in my mind, Battles waged, secrets confined. Bound to feel, I wonder why, To hold their pain, to hear their cry. Yet in their echoes, I exist, Torn by sympathy I can’t resist. A fragile light, a bleeding flame, An empath’s curse, an empath’s name.