What a horrible phrase.
A string of words that
steals the air from your lungs,
right when you're already gasping.
A phrase used by the mistreated,
and the ones who mistreat.
If you’ve been hurt,
maybe you’ve been taught
to shrink your pain.
To measure your suffering
against someone else’s,
as if pain is a contest,
as if smaller wounds don’t still bleed.
Maybe you say it as a joke,
or whisper it under your breath,
just trying to make peace with the weight you carry.
And the ones who say it to you?
Maybe they’ve been hardened by their own battles.
Maybe they never learned
how to sit with someone else’s pain.
Maybe they’re the very reason you're hurting.
What may seem like nothing to you
could be everything to someone else.
We all see the world through different eyes,
process life through different minds.
On the outside, things might look easy.
On the inside, a war could be raging.
Your troubles are not small.
And you are not made small by your troubles.
You're just human.
About the Creator
Carson Hunter
I write to be understood, and to let you know I understand.
I write because it's the only way I can even understand myself.
I write to make dreams reality.
I'm here, and so are you.
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Comments (2)
soooo relatable.... love how you took one overused phrased and created a poem out of it!
What stood out to me most was how you captured the complexity of empathy—the balancing act between recognizing others’ suffering and honoring our own. It’s a reminder that we don’t have to minimize our emotions just because others may be experiencing their own hardships.