Minimized

When suffering
Is too much to witness
It is minimized
Denied its depth

I guess that’s human nature

To manage the pain of others
By making it smaller

Some say

That the children in Connecticut
Must have died quickly
Before they even knew what was happening
But I think
At least some
Of the children
Probably were terrified
Probably knew what was happening
Probably suffered
And that has to be grieved
Reconciled
By those who remain

Some say

Women who can't have children
Should do fertility, adopt, or go without
But those options
Don’t change the fact
That these women
Can’t have the family they wanted
Don't get their hearts desire in this life
Carry an emptiness within
They suffer
And that has to be grieved
Reconciled
By those who live it

Some say

Whatever the pain is
Cannot be all that bad
Because if it’s all that bad
How could it ever
Be reconciled

But suffering is real

And difficult
To reconcile

And to minimize it

With wishful thinking or
Dismissive solutions
Is to deny the very pain
That must be
Acknowledged
For healing
To come