autistic empath

after Yasmin Khoshnood

your kind just cannot empathize — that’s the
lie. actually — i erupt whole tides of empathy

transparently — and honestly? how could i
not? as othered as they’ve made me. i’ve felt

first-hand inflicted pain that’s consumed
full days outright; distress that’s left me

barnyard sobbing too many times to
cite. no, actually. when others cry the

cries of the tyrannized it saturates my core.
as a matter of fact i feel it all, for i know it

all too wholly. actually. if anything. those like me are made
of ample empathy; possessed with such affinity that for my

kind — others’ pain embeds within the mind.

and actually — on more nights than not i can’t evade / un- feel
it. if i am to sleep at all — i must sleep swaddled in their sore.

Oakley Ayden (she/her) is an autistic, queer writer and social justice activist with North Carolina roots. She currently lives and works in California's San Bernardino National Forest with her two daughters. You can find her on Instagram @Oakley.Ayden.