Today we will recognize

that the world

does not replenish what it takes.

Words do not describe the unfairness,
the gap, the whole concept of having been

emptied

But instead of conserving
we will fling open our doors
to sunshine, clouds, or a raging storm---
this time we won't expect any warmth.
Within our emptiness,
we will find more to give

We will give and we will give
exhaust the inadequate supplies
that we receive at birth.
Rip apart the cardboard boxes
filled to the top,
the ones we have kept in our hearts too long
and dump the contents onto the streets,
if only to watch as a flash flood
carries them away unused and wasted

We will give and we will give
the part of us we never knew we had,
give our shattered pieces
to the dreamer who will use the broken edges
to stitch his dreams together.
We will give our seeds which have
withered under the sun
the ones that are dead
and plant them in the rocky soil.
Water them with our sweat, blood, and tears.
It does not matter whether they grow.

We will give and we will give
until we are shells
until the best part of ourselves
the part we have struggled
to keep for so long
is gone
and it is then
in our emptiness
that we will truly be filled.