What does this poem say to you??

Question

Vacancy

An absence,

a vacancy;

an empty hole

where nothing

fills

what nothing

ever can.

What could have been

lies unfulfilled,

unlearned,

unknown.

What is,

is left to struggle,

unaware in its

diminished capacity

that it barely survives;

as the world that

should never have been,

creates a half-life.

Answer 1

The subject in this sad tale seems to have intentionally or unintentionally given up, either in their own ability to cope with life or the influences brought about by others.

They have become as if  dead, not only to that which could have been but that which may still be obtained.

I see an empty shell wandering the streets not caring any more, with no past, present or future.

I see a paupers grave tucked away in some corner of a church with a marker giving only a number .

(Change What nothing... to Which nothing...)

Robert

Answer 2

Your work has touched me deeply.  It almost perfectly describes the life of my brother, who was born with most of his brain completely undeveloped.  For the first time, I cry for him.  Thank you.

Answer 3

To me it means a person who never lived life to the fullest, only doing the least amount to get by. (hence - half-life). This person must have turned their back on new experiences, new friendships, love, etc.

Answer 4

Shall we dance through life, always seeking something to fill the hole when sometimes the friends that surround us are the perfect shape to do so?... the love of life and light, dark and death alike... for they all count for something in making this world what it is... a space with nothing to occupy... this is only human... it is what fuels our curiosity... it, in some strange way, gives us hope, because we see that there is something to be discovered, something else to be found and this hole is just a temporary ailment... There is so much to be seen... and my words have not done you justice...

Thank you for sharing this.

Blessed Be in Love and Light and the ever ongoing search for fulfillment, Siren

Answer 5

A heart that has never had the chance to know true love, intimacy and the joy that it brings.

Unaware of what they are missing... a child that was left unloved and cannot comprehend its meaning.

or an autistic child that seems unreachable.

Answer 6

It sounds like the end of a relationship or friendship. Pain of what is left and regret of what might have been. The "stuggle" of heartache. Great poem.

Answer 7

I see a challenged child coming into the world under difficult circumstances.

Answer 8

what happens to something not cared for, but it can say a lot to different people

Answer 9

It seems as if something is missing.

Now that I have satisfied my compulsion for the rim-shot one-liner, let me say that this is excellent. There is nothing specific here, it is left to the reader's imagination to create that from his/her own experience. And yet the poem is very descriptive, because it hones in on the essence. I remember in the 1950's there was a popular fad in which the outlines of a picture appeared and we had to fill in the paint according to the numbers. It really didn't matter which colors one used. The outline of a fisherman always produced a painting of a fisherman, etc. And thus this poem. It creates something very specific. But we must each create it for ourselves, and each time we read it, we create something new and unique. I love this in a poem. And, as far as what this poem means to ME? Why, that doesn't matter, it's what it means to YOU.

Answer 10

this says to me that this person had a true love, a person he or she truly adored, and that person left him or her, and that part of his or her heart that belonged to that love has been ripped out.

very good poem, by the way