I don't think I could ever be
a counselor.
I know the unidentified
"they"
say people learn
to compartmentalize
keep their work
at work
and return to it
later.
But I don’t know how to shut those emotions
off.
Growing up, I tended to be someone
people confided in.
I never asked for it;
I was just available
and listened,
so people
told me their
insurmountable
stuff.
But I never could figure out
how to shut it off
move on from it
and not have their stuff
seep
into
me.
Everything
affected
(affects) me.
When a friend confides in me now,
or I find out about something
deep in their life,
I still carry it
live it
feel it.
I don’t know how
not to.
I can’t just shut my feelings off.
I can’t just force myself
not to feel them.