Holding Isn’t Feeling – A Poem About Trauma, Erasure, and the Limits of Empathy episode artwork

EPISODE · Sep 4, 2025 · 2 MIN

Holding Isn’t Feeling – A Poem About Trauma, Erasure, and the Limits of Empathy

from Unspoken · host Kate

In this raw and powerful spoken word poem, Kate Earley challenges the assumption that witnessing trauma is the same as understanding it. Holding Isn’t Feeling explores themes of childhood abuse, therapeutic invalidation, and the quiet violence of clinical detachment. With searing imagery—bodies cataloged on shelves, blood wiped clean from desks, a gallery of grief—the poem demands not professionalism, but presence. This episode is a vital listen for survivors, clinicians, and anyone reckoning with the weight of lived experience beyond observation.Copyright ©2025 Kate EarleyMusic: Liebesträume S. 541 No. 3 in A♭ Major by Franz LisztWritten: June 26, 2025

In this raw and powerful spoken word poem, Kate Earley challenges the assumption that witnessing trauma is the same as understanding it. Holding Isn’t Feeling explores themes of childhood abuse, therapeutic invalidation, and the quiet violence of clinical detachment. With searing imagery—bodies cataloged on shelves, blood wiped clean from desks, a gallery of grief—the poem demands not professionalism, but presence. This episode is a vital listen for survivors, clinicians, and anyone reckoning with the weight of lived experience beyond observation.Copyright ©2025 Kate EarleyMusic: Liebesträume S. 541 No. 3 in A♭ Major by Franz LisztWritten: June 26, 2025

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Holding Isn’t Feeling – A Poem About Trauma, Erasure, and the Limits of Empathy

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In this raw and powerful spoken word poem, Kate Earley challenges the assumption that witnessing trauma is the same as understanding it. Holding Isn’t Feeling explores themes of childhood abuse, therapeutic invalidation, and the quiet violence of...

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