Zebra Seeking Spoons

I was drowning quietly,

beneath the glassy surface

of my own body’s storm—

each wave another symptom,

each breath a negotiation.

Then I saw you

First one then dozens, hundreds

your hands reaching,

not for rescue,

but for understanding. 

A calming force in the dark void

I could not still my own pain,

but I can help in tiny ways to steady yours.

I can sit beside you

I can share my experience 

Empathize 

A voice speaking similar to your own thoughts and experiences as if from the workings of your own inner mind. 

Somehow,

by holding your fear,

mine grew lighter.

By lending you words,

I found my own voice again.

We survive together—

not by mending what was broken,

but by being each other’s anchor

in waters we can not calm.

And in the quiet,

I learned:

healing is not always

the absence of pain—

sometimes,

it is the presence of someone

you refuse to let drift away.