To Be Empty

Empty and alone,
I stare at the flickering flame,
shadows dancing on the wall.

Thoughts roll in,
dark and heavy,
filling the emptiness,
oppressive.

Then they slip away,
unattended,
and the emptiness opens,
light and expansive.

This ebb and flow,
like breathing
in and out,
is the mind’s song,
the rhythm
of this human
experience.