Emptiness

Free Verse

Emptiness is not silence
it's a roar, deafening and loud
it's an earsplitting scream

Emptiness is not quiet
it's a rich, reverberant refrain
yet one that strike no chords in me

Emptiness is not hollow
it dwells in the fullness of smiles
day after each dejected day

Emptiness is not stillness
it's the throb of destitute hearts
still spewing unrequited love

Emptiness is not a chill
It's the warmth still felt
in a loved one's waning breath

Emptiness is not a tomb
it's a place full of life
with all of life's joys interred

Emptiness is not a cadaver
under a cold halogen lamp
it is living, laughing humans
it is you and and it is me

Author's Note

I often feel that dark, depressing poetry is overrated and people who keep professing to be 'desolate', 'empty', 'troubled' etc are just over hyped and exaggerating a lot. I have often noticed that the jolliest guy at a party is often the saddest. Emptiness doesn't come to us in deluges and avalanches, it comes in little showers, small sprinklings that keep drenching us, seeping into us in the daily business of living. How finely then a person handles his/her share of everday grief and how gracefully they carry their cross is a mark of a sterling human being.
Thanks for looking in 😊👍

Reviews

[.]

Quite profound observations, Monsieur P! Emptiness and loneliness are two of a kind. We immediately connect those words with people sitting all alone in the dark with no friends, no prospects and no hopes and dreams, but the reality is even for those who have everything and the world at their feet, emptiness can still dwell within and fester. Outwardly all seems fine, but deep inside there is a gnawing ache that just cannot be resolved. I have come across people who suffer from this inner discontentment and its an unpleasant condition. I adore the way your poem tackles a difficult subject by contrasting the blacks and whites of the inner and outer displays while in the grip of such emptiness. You manage to give it a sense of beauty when itself and beauty do not go hand in hand. It is a sign of fine writing, so well done on this one. Your pen is in fine form at present! Much enjoyed! :))

[AJNJ]

Thank you for appreciating where this is coming from Madame. I often feel that dark
depressing poetry is overrated and people who profess to be 'desolate', 'empty', 'troubled' etc are just over hyped and exaggerating a lot. I have often noticed that the holiest guy at a party is often the saddest. Emptiness doesn't come to us in deluges and avalanches, it comes in little waves that keep brushing against us, little droplets that keep seeping into us in the daily business of living. How finely a person handles his/her share of everday grief and how gracefully they carry their cross is a mark of a sterling human being.
Thanks a ton for stopping by with such a gracious and beautiful review! 😊👍

[AJNJ]

********jolliest

[Jimmy Yetts]

A novel and enlightening perspective.
Very much enjoyed this read.
Great "Author's Note," as well

[AJNJ]

Thanks a ton, dear sir!

[Neville]

this is nothing short of excellent.. it does not need any further words from me...

my word tho what an authors note you have pinned to this page

Neville

[AJNJ]

Thanks a lot for such an awesome review. Feeling greatly encouraged here.

[Ruth]

Emptiness, I consider it a balance, a being can't be all joy, verse and light 24/7. I really like this Pestonjee_ because it shows realness, a rawness...the truth of being human, excellent piece :)

[AJNJ]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this piece. I appreciate very much :)

[Chris Shaw]

Some of the funniest people are often the ones that lead the saddest and loneliest lives. I have roared with laughter over the years at some who have then died at a later date by suicide. We will never know how people really feel inside, we can only guess how they feel. Your wonderful lines made me stop in my tracks and think about the emptiness that some comedians must have felt. I am thinking of Tony Hancock and Spike Milligan in particular who both suffered from dreadful depression and yet gave so much laughter to others. I am really liking your poetic expression. This poem is so good.

Chris

[AJNJ]

Thank you so much for this encouraging review Chris. Your words will spur me on, give me a reason to keep making an effort to write and share something meaningful. And that is the greatest gift one writer can give another. Thanks dear friend. :)

[Chris Shaw]

You are welcome :)

[Coyote Poetry]

I liked how you defined emptiness. Easy to become empty, more darkness than light in our world. Thank you for sharing the amazing poetry my friend.
Coyote

[AJNJ]

It is an integral part of us. Perhaps ashes are what it seeks. Thank you for your precious thoughts sir.

[Coyote Poetry]

You are welcome my friend.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

It is interesting how we could feel lonely in a crowded room, and yet completely surrounded and fulfilled in an empty one.
I guess often we measure emptiness in definitions that are quite ambiguous.
With "life's joys interred"....is such a great image.
j.

[AJNJ]

Smiling smiling I die within. It is an everyday thing. Thank you very much for your much valued thoughts on this page. Appreciated very much.

[John the Baptist]

Emptiness is fulness, fulness is emptiness. So said the Buddha. What this offering is describing is the pain of a mind that is experiencing the withdrawal from something external in which it had invested all its happiness. What is ironic is that same externality, once possessed, would eventually lose its savor, and the mind would again start experiencing emptiness. It is a double bind we are caught in until we find something that does not depreciate. Ultimately, that lies within ourselves.

[AJNJ]

You have opened up a new vista for me here. Yes, I think feeling of emptiness keeps moving and shifting with our expectations and desires. Thanks a lot for your thoughts here. They'll be of great help to me in thinking more deeply on this subject.

[.]

I agree with your sentiments in this poem. It is always the clown in the circus that is the saddest underneath. Those who always project an outward display of emptiness, struggle and depression are in fact weak individuals. In the face of Darwinism they will be swallowed up whole. Another excellent contribution from your pen. Well written.

[AJNJ]

Thank you for appearing on this page. I do agree with you wholeheartedly that the whiners will see their end soon. It affects everything from the immune system, to the blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Impossible to last with so much of the bad kind stress and scheming.

[Dhara_Ditzy Kat]

Emptiness is not something inside us that we can identify easily unless we are really in touch with ourselves. And yet it nibbles away at us each and every day. Nicely penned Pestonjee.

[AJNJ]

I'm glad you could get me Ms. Kat. Thanks a ton. Stay safe and well.