Author Information
Watched
I once watched someone
pace across a room like their body
was trying to outrun something invisible.
Hands shaking, breathing uneven.
eyes searching for safety
that never fully arrived.
Someone nearby held them gently
and whispered, "I understand."
I thought, that is compassion.
But a therapist standing there
looked at the comforting person
and said quietly, "no.
That is trauma recognizing itself."
And suddenly the entire room
felt different.
Because wounded people often
become experts at calming pain
they were never rescued from.
They know exactly what to say.
Exactly how to soothe.
Not because life was gentle with them-
but because it wasn't.
