EMPTY SPACE

I live in awe of you people
who use every moment of every day.
You never lack for something to do.
Empty space is a concept that's
simply not part of your vocabulary.
So, for you folks whose lives are rich and full,
here's a primer in empty space.
First, you must learn to distinguish
between taking a break,
which some of you call a vacation,
and true empty space.
Empty space is not a brief interval of relaxing
between useful functions.
Empty space is a void.
It evokes feelings like panic.
Despair.
Isolation.
It hurts so much,
you'd do almost anything to avoid feeling it.
In fact, many people do almost anything.
Smoke cigarettes.
Eat.
Allow years to pass in ego-crushing jobs.
Stay in horrible relationships.
But the fact is, for some of us,
empty space is a bridge we must cross
to get from one foothold to the next.
Empty space must be more than tolerated.
It must be respected.
Even embraced.
Because out of it comes
the most amazing growth of all.
If we can live through this painful void,
we unearth resources within us
we never knew existed.
Discover talents and abilities
forgotten since childhood.
Find ourselves doing things we never dreamed of.
I have spent my life fleeing from empty space
but on those few occasions
when I've managed not to run,
I have never failed to be rewarded.
Tonight, as I sit here in empty space,
I find myself finally turning to write.


© Ellen Azorin