Anatomy Of Absence Poem by Shafay Zubair

My heart is a fossil.
Petrified in time.
My mind—numb,
to glee, to pain.
Not even a twitch at someone's joke,
not even a sigh
when life caves in.

I just stand there—
disaster-stricken,
frozen stiff.
Hollow soul.
Dreadful eyes.
Vague emotions.
Fogged-out brain.
And no outlet
for the rot to drain.

No joy.
Not in this feigned,
simulated world.
This circus of mortal beings,
with their fragile dreams
of eternal reward.

I rise from ashes—
a bright golden glow behind me.
White flannel on.
Not a saint.
Just above them.
Looking down,
disgust curling in my chest,
nausea at their low-life hunger.

And if that makes me wrong—
so be it.
This world
was never mine
to begin with.