“Borrowed Empathy”

Yeah…

You ever give so much of yourself…

you forget what’s yours?

Yeah… this that moment you remember.

I used to feel everything, that was my design,

Every shift in your tone, every crack in your mind,

I’d absorb all the hurt, try to keep you aligned,

While you quietly took every piece that was mine.

I thought love meant endurance, I thought pain had a use,

Made excuses for your chaos, called your damage “your truth,”

Kept pouring from a cup that was already dry,

Didn’t notice I was drowning just to keep you supplied.

You were subtle with control, never loud, never clear,

Just a slow erosion built on guilt and on fear,

Had me questioning myself every step, every breath—

Till I looked up one day and was a shell of what’s left.

I carried your weight till it buried me deep,

Now I’m digging myself out of promises you keep.

No more bleeding for people who don’t feel the same—

Yeah, the empath got a limit… and you lit the flame.

You don’t love—you consume, that’s the game that you play,

Find a soul, break it down, then you feed while it stays,

Every tear that you fake, every lie that you frame,

Just a tool to keep control while you shift all the blame.

(Verse 3]

You had me thinking I was broken, I was hard to maintain,

Like my care was a burden, like my love was a strain,

But the truth hit different when I stepped out your view—

I was never too much… I was too real for you.

Now I see every pattern, every scripted disguise,

Every “sorry” that you said with no change behind,

You don’t miss me—you miss what I gave you for free,

That reflection of worth that you stole outta me.

I carried your weight till it buried me deep,

Now I’m digging myself out of promises you keep.

No more bleeding for people who don’t feel the same—

Yeah, the empath got a limit… and you lit the flame.

And the wild part is…

I still understand you.

That’s what made it dangerous.

But understanding you… doesn’t mean I stay.

Nah—

I see the cycle, I see the design,

How you mirror affection just to keep ‘em in line,

How you study reactions, then adjust your persona,

Turn pain into leverage like emotional owners.

But I’m cutting the cord, I’m reclaiming the space,

Every boundary I build is a step to escape,

You can paint me the villain, I’m fine with that role—

‘Cause I’d rather be whole than be under control.

(Verse 4)

No more over-explaining, no more trying to prove,

No more shrinking myself just to give you more room,

You mistook all my kindness for a weakness to use—

Now you watching that same empathy turn into truth.

I carried your weight—now I’m setting it down. All that silence I kept? Yeah, I’m letting it out. You can keep all your masks, I don’t play in that game—

The empath found power… and it don’t feel the same.

Yeah…

I don’t hate you.

I just see you clearly now.

And that’s enough.