A room full of faces

A forest of voices

And none of them seem to penetrate 

None of them seem to hold you

You’re a nucleus surrounded by membrane

We’re together, but we’re separate

And you feel empty, still

Kisses are temporary, jobs are temporary

But the self I carry every day —while temporary—is 

endless

But there’s a loneliness, still

One difficult to fill

What is it?

The absence of love? The absence of purpose?

Or, a disruption of self?

Like a wall that’s been built 

With no view to the other side 

It almost makes you forget

I wait for the wall to come down again

-SHANTAL