Requiem for a Fool

My bed is empty.

Empty like my heart,

like the pockets in my coat,

the ones with holes in them.

My house is empty, too.

There is no noise,

just the calcifying veins that

carry hollow ice cubes around

my empty body.

My head is empty.

I can not keep a thought there

before it flies away, unbidden,

stillborn before I see it,

buried in an unmarked grave.

My words are empty.

They have no meaning,

a politician’s words -

like the ‘sorry’ that follows a breakup,

they render me mute.

My life is empty.

Statistics on a resumé page,

lists of people known and places visited,

relationships broken and never healed.

I am empty.

And now I’d like to die.

Reviews

[scottysohaughty]

wow...time to check out some new age books........like zen...where none of this really matters....except as an experience....cool

Your poem is so strong, by the end of it I felt so empty. I couldnt find a fault in it, thank you for sharing. :)

[thribhu]

There are some very good elements to this poem. I love the emotion. It is definitely written in a way by which I can understand. Then there are specific lines that are excellent. "My bed is empty./Empty like my heart,/like the pockets in my coat,/the ones with holes in them." or "My words are empty./They have no meaning,/a politician’s words." Indeed there's this sense of mourning that I can appreciate. But, overall, I would suggest you consider your length. If you would like to have just one emotion, like that of depression, you should have a smaller poem, mostly just to avoid redundancy, one of the only sins in poetry.

[courtridicule]

your...song is clear

[Teri B]

Stark! Dark! What a deep sense of loss is here, and how well you have delineated it. No one can have any question as to the awful despair the speaker feels! Nicely done!

[Helen Crutchett]

The despair and disappointment that life so often burdens us with and overcomes one that that we feel we can no longer suffer anymore. you have penned so eloquently. Thank you Jeremy for submitting this to my "Keeping The Dream Alive" contest.

PS. I see you are an Aussie too! I will send you a friend request as well as an invite to Albert's Poetry Cafe. :)

[John Jackson (El Juero)]

Brutal, and beautiful. Been there, and luckfully my life has become warm and full again.
Great writing.

[Sukriti Suki]

Deep....very honest and touches the reader. Wonderful. Looking forward to reading more of your work.

[Darkest Rose]

Such a sad write,brought tears to my eyes cause I have felt that way before.
Love it a lot though,very strong emotion in it.Keep up the fab writing :)

[Lane-roe]

Strong imagery with fierce, raw emotion behind it. Well done!