Empathy in a Digital Age

In the classroom, hushed and still,

A girl, unknowing of what's to unveil,

A moment's privacy, captured in scorn,

A secret shared, her dignity torn.

Across the screen, a witness I stood,

A moment frozen, misunderstood,

My heart ached with empathy's embrace,

A shared secret, the shame in her face.

A glance, a whisper, a fleeting desire,

Snared in a net of cruel, viral fire,

Her face flushed with horror and regret,

Her life exposed on the internet.

I wish I could reach through the screen's cold pane,

Whisper comfort, and take away the pain,

But all I could do was close the device,

Wishing her strength in this unwanted strife.

In an age of screens and heartless disdain,

Her story's a lesson in empathy's flame,

For we all have secrets, moments unseen,

Let's hold our judgment, and let others be.

For her story is now a tale from the past,

A video vanished, a shadow not cast,

Yet the lesson lingers in my mind so clear,

In our shared humanity, let's hold what's dear.

© Susie Stiles-Wolf