It hurts when I walk down the street,

or when I sleepily stroll into my 9 a.m.

It hurts to see all the people looking at me.

It hurts when I know I can't help them.

There's just so much pain in this world

and it's a lot of work for just one girl.

I'm an empath, but not the paranormal kind.

I'm an empath because of all the hurt I find.

Your emotions are like fire and ice,

I feel them all as I walk past you.

Your racism and hatred burn me.

The hurt from it feels like bad frostbite.

I can't even watch the news. I close my eyes

because sometimes it's just too much to see.

Another child lost their life due to suicide,

a school shooting, and an insufficient parent.

People are discriminating, hating, and alienating

all just because of the looks, melanin, and beliefs.

Whatever happened to the idea of the melting pot?

It's the immigration they seemed to have forgot.

The government still has no budget and it's

causing students to go bankrupt with no help.

My generation is no longer allowed to dream.

Why dream if you won't end up with retirement?

No longer can we go for the jobs we want,

now we have to accept the jobs we can get.

Single moms are working night shift and the

elderly are slowly running out of retirement funds.

I feel the pain when I see people at the mall.

I can't help but hurt for those who are struggling.

I can't stop seeing this hatred and pain and it's

starting to become way too much.

So I feel a lot of things and it's never going to stop.

So I march, I hope and I pray that maybe one day

my children, our children, and their children

don't have to feel the pain of this world.