Tell me

What are the comforting words
for someone who lost a loved one?
How do you share the pain
that no one should have to suffer?
What’s the sense in being there
when you don’t really know how to make them hold on?
How absurd is an I feel for you
when you can’t make things better?
How senseless is it to care about them
when you’re not the one they need?
How futile is the effort to console someone
when you couldn’t be solaced if you were them?
How tearing is the helplessness
when you know theirs is ineffably worse?