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

[Sunni Davis]

So very sad. I can feel the pain erupting off your words. Its sheer brilliance that allows you to write words that others can feel.

[...]

stark images
that flow with
a remarkable brilliance
and words that resound
this is probably why poetry 'is'

[Linear]

Don't we all feel this, no matter our age love can bring us down just as easily as it builds us up, great display of emotion, well written. :0)

[MS. BABy]

wow....this just made me feel empty when you can make someone feel words I think that is the best acolade a poet can receive....wonderful

[lovely-livia]

i love the word choices!

[Fairy Willow]

Nice piece again, I am feeling the vibes in this. Very heavy and dark. Like the word play. Hope you find some lightness in the dark. :)

[Audrey Howitt]

Lovely Jeremy. Such a sad write, but I feel this person's emptiness so exquisitely in this poem --you touch that place in me that always feels some of this.

[Kenneth The Poet]

I feel like this person regularly. Nice job as always, Jeremy.

[Brad Nugent]

There is definitely loads of feeling poured onto the page here. The empty feeling in life described as 'statistics on a resume page' is such a compelling image. I think we have all been there in doubting the value of past achievements! The words flow well and the repetition of the word 'empty' throughout is a nice emphasis to the emotion conveyed. I understand the feeling of despair in the last line - damn life can make you feel like that sometimes - but it is probably too global and strong a statement for me. I have to believe there are positives in the world that can balance out that emptiness. Other than that, this is a powerful piece of writing!

[Poetic Beauty]

This reminds me of how people feel after a long term relationship or marriage ends. Life seems empty and the silence is so loud it crushes the ear drums. The black hole seems to follow every where consuming all feelings and space.