twenty-one.

Look all around you
at the
 emptiness
by which
w
e
'
v
e
been replaced.

The us
of
once
       upon
       a time,
and lands far,     far      away;

Look closely,
and you will see
it is inside ev'ry vase,
and can be found between
r     u    n     n   e        r    s
at every single race.

It's in
            the sorrowful song of
s e a s h e l l s pressed to one's ears.
A sound as silent as
c r i c k e t s
    pau          -        sing to rest whilst
rehearsing Rachmaninoff with their peers.

A vast, desolate w as t e land
is where it thrives!
Darkenclosedspaces
are where it shines.

It surrounds me
whenever my hand


sinks
to the very bottom
of a brand new
patent leather
                     bag.

All I need to do
is slide my fingers
into a glove to
know that it exists.

This emptiness I cannot
tolerate at all, and it must stop
...so I keep filling it with air
until I hear a joyful POP!

For it is in this emptiness
that I am forced to face my fears,
soon—emptiness will be extinct;
drowned in entire seas of my pent-up tears.