Hollow

A husk of the man I once was
I walk along with strange faces
With their beaming souls
And glowing smiles
I do not understand them.
 
A curt smile, a nod.
A shared cigar was all it was,
Yet they’ll tell me they feel the same.
How can a stranger know me better than myself?
I do not understand.
 
The same sorrowful gaze
All around me they can see
They stop and peer
Into my sickly shriveled heart
They do not understand.
 
I cry to the stars, 
like eyes, they blink and stare
They taunt me, day and night
Those brightly glowing stars
They do not understand.

No. It is me. 
Me, who does not understand!
I push and shove away 
from their beckoning beacons
And kindred faces of strangers
My own soul longs to be like them!
 
The stars will never leave the sky!
They will continue to shimmer, like dimes
When they dim, they brighten up again.
I may not understand yet,
But I want to try.