Shook my head at her nodding expression

Claiming to know what could not be known,

Tired of impatient compassion,

Mad-dashes to a nonexistent finish line.

Empathy is not understanding

But rather the acceptance of never understanding

And doing our best to love

Within the limbo of answerless questions.

Still I was touched by her earnest mistakes,

Her college freshman sense of certainty

Like a stunningly gorgeous evangelist

Who blurs the line between sincerity and insanity.

Coffee tastes best when someone offers to make it for you

Without you even having to ask,

A rare accurate prediction

Sanctified through its seeming insignificance.

So I’ll let myself be caffeinated by Keurig machines,

Costco conceptions of consolation

Because the purity of premature surety

Compensates for underlying obscurity.

Sam Hendrian is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker and poet striving to foster empathy through art. Every Sunday, he writes personalized poems for passersby outside of Chevalier’s Books, LA’s oldest independent bookstore. You can find his poetry and film links on Instagram at @samhendrian143. 

Authors Notes: My poems "Maze of Missed Connection" and "Rare Accurate Predictions" explore the ironies hidden within the human quest for community and belonging; we often reject opportunities to connect with people out of pride or even greed, waiting 'til "something better" comes along. But if we were to humble ourselves and be more open to the kindness of others -- no matter how flawed and fragile it often is -- we may inch closer to finding the sense of community we crave.