Listening Is

Listening is

Creating space

For others
To talk in detail
For as long as they need to
About their splinter
While you
Sit across from them
With broken bones
 
Listening is
Having something to add
But purposely refraining
Because the other person
Needs to talk
More than you
Need to be heard

Listening is letting someone
Tell you how they feel
Without telling them
How you feel about
What they are telling you

It is
Sitting quietly, patiently
For half hour, an hour, or more
While someone shares
The big and small details of their lives
And not being asked
Any details
About yours

It’s attempting to interject
Into a conversation
That has required your full listening ears
A tiny portion
Of what you want to share
Only to find  
That the other person
Isn’t listening
 
It is the realization
That others
Consider you
To be an endless reservoir
For their stories and their pain

Unaware that you struggle

Constantly
To find ways
To fill your own cup

Listening is sacrificing
What you want
To give someone else
What they need

Listening is rare

Because it is hard
And we are all
So hungry
To be heard
 
Listening
Is so
Exhausting

And still
It is worth it
Every time