HOLLOW
by Leon Wilborn

I walk into this room
Thinking I'd be greeted with
Welcoming smiles and
Kind words 
Instead
I encounter
Glares of hatred and
Words of ridicule
But
These glares go unseen and
The words fall on deaf ears for
The haters are like the
Discarded shell of a pecan
The ridiculers are
Leaking vessels that remained in
Disrepair

For these are all 
Hollow
Yes
The dirty looks are seen through
Blind eyes
And
The harsh words are but 
Meaningless babel
Yes
They are all hollow

Don't try to tell me that the actions of 
Ridiculers and those that hate
Hold substance for I
Know that he who hates without reason
And
He who teases without cause
Only convey the emptiness inside them for
They are all hollow, yes
Hollow