YOU HAVE AN EMPTINESS

I Love You

When no one is present

When you can’t tell someone

how you feel 

because

they would not understand

When there is no hand to grasp

When you are sad

When you are sick

When you claim the rain as your tears

When you hide behind a mask

because no one remembers your face

When you find joy

in a passage from a book 

but

someone else makes it a battle

When music lifts you

but no one hears what you hear

Be still

Know

you are not alone

I read over your shoulder

I see you

I hear your music

I feel your joy

Go on being you

finding your truth

writing it down

whether or not anyone

reads it, understands

or needs it

What is in you

I have given

I have filled you

because

you have an emptiness

I can fill

You have an emptiness

because

you pour out what I give

through your writing

through your tears

LJ Austin 3-9-24

ART: LJ Austin “The Vessel” 2024