Hollow Men Poem by Aron Heroux

Hollow men with
hollow hearts
chide us with
a mindless script
rehearsed in fear
of standing out
of being naked
of looking in the mirror
and seeing nothing

Insidious lies traded
like poxed blankets
permeate us
our identity
our speech
our reflections
turn in shame

We're dirty creatures
we're ugly creatures
indulging in our shame
helpless and chained
to our fate:
bite the apple
buy the lie
sell the book
sell yourself

Bow and scrape
and pretend
that the world is flat
that to be naked
is to be ashamed
that life is a mistake
waiting for some
divine whiteout
live your life in waiting
in fear
in self-hatred
in denial
in a fiction that ends
not with a bang
but with a whimper

Do you believe that?

I for one
will bite the apple
reject the lie
live not in waiting
but in-fact
and worship at the altar
of this glorious mistake