Elusive Empathy

Questions, reflections
Whispers of the core
My thirst to enlighten 
Often bearing a toll

A fog of confusion
Thrust into view
With unbridled essence 
Obscuring the bloom

Shadows are cast
By empathy's glow
Seeking to navigate
A harsh undertow

Wishing them solace
In shared refrain
My well-meaning pause
Is met with raw pain

How to steer clear
From their chaotic hold?
How to befit, not theirs
But my mold?

If in the depth of their angst
My own truth cannot thrive
How can human understanding
Ever aim to survive?

New York, October 2017
Photo: Alina de Albergaria

Over the span of seventeen years, I engaged in numerous interviews with esteemed actors and directors. Amongst these encounters, a conversation with Daniel Day-Lewis regarding his work on the film "Last of the Mohicans," left an indelible impression:

Human nature is in a constant state of ebb and flow, and what we forget most readily are the lessons history has taught us.

The depth of Day-Lewis's statement has resonated with me ever since, becoming a guiding light in discussions spanning global affairs, familial dynamics, political discourse, and human relationships. Today, I find myself delving deeper into the implications of his insight, pondering whether a conflict is merely the pendulum's ceaseless oscillation from one extreme to the other. Might the intricacies of human nature be such that mutual acceptance of differing perspectives becomes the epitome of resolution? Oh, if only I could engage the sagacious actor one more time!