I am shocked
By the number of people
Who will not bother to ask
If you are OK
Who will not bother
To take action
When they know
You are not

I am honored
To have found a select few
Who have been there for me
In ways that exceed
What others offer
And that match
What I give
What a blessing

©2019 by Loolwa Khazzoom. All rights reserved. No portion of this article may be copied without author’s permission.

I’m thinking about
Boundaries containers structures
Understanding that I have limitations
That I cannot continue being
A wellspring of raw strength
Available to all as needed

My fear is that your life my life
Are I competition with each other now
Clamoring for the resource of my energy
Which is being worn down systematically
By other people’s failure neglect and apathy
Leaving me a heap on the sidelines
Watching helplessly

©2019 by Loolwa Khazzoom. All rights reserved. No portion of this article may be copied without author’s permission.

Unrelenting intensity
Excruciating loss
The stakes are high
I find myself alone
In a churning ocean
Waves crashing at me
From all sides
My strength depleted
Danger to my life
But it won’t let up
And these waters
Are the very ones
That soothed me healed me
That now threaten
To drown me

©2019 by Loolwa Khazzoom. All rights reserved. No portion of this article may be copied without author’s permission.