Emptiness

Sometimes, in the midst of friends,

I am separated by an invisible wall.

All around me it extends,

Imperceptible, yet sturdy and tall.

As I am imprisoned in this void,

A place no one else can enter,

A vacuum null and devoid,

Of joy and laughter,

I wonder how life can be so dull,

When all around me are just smiles.

Outwardly, I joke along with them,

Yet, deep inside, there is an emptiness,

That I hide away from them,

As no one will understand this loneliness.

The more I try to conceal this feeling,

The stranger my laughter sounds,

As if someone else, not me, is moving

My lips, my body he bounds.

Like a puppet tied to the thread,

To his jovial tune I dance to entertain,

Though all I want is to holler in pain,

But no words escape, just a tear I shed.

I wonder how life can be so dull

When all around me are just snarls.