Emptiness

I know how it is
how it feels
what it brings
I have been there
many times over
I'm still there
feeling it
the cold gaze
the longings only
the eyes convey
chasing dreams
lost in a makeshift
meaningless
existence

Its all there
in the half smiles
the unsure steps
of the drunken man
bottle still in hand
in the outstretched
arms of those waiting
for dole outs
in a mother's wails
for a lost child
in the unsteady drift
of an aspiring poet
I know what it is . . .
it is called emptiness