Afraid to Care

This is a work of fiction. image by AI; my own prompt I shield my heart from tragic news, From warnings of what’s soon to come, And lock away compassion’s fire — It’s safer now to just be numb. I dread to think what others know Beyond the headlines’ fleeting glare, For every truth I let inside Strips hope away and leaves despair. I dare not ask you how you feel, For truth might break what strength remains. The answer might unseal a flood Of long-forgotten, hidden pains. Too many lost, too many wars, Too many children left alone. Too many ghosts now haunt the truths I once believed my heart had known. Yet every heart that learns to close Pays dearly for that cold disguise — A smaller life is purchased there Beneath the reassuring lies. And every day I hide from life Some living part of me grows small The price of self-protection is The slowest, saddest loss of all. And though the world can break my heart Beyond what anyone could bear, The deepest cut of all is my Becoming too afraid to…