a different kind of empty

“How have you been?” he asked.

“Empty. You?”

“Same.” he replied.

After listening for a bit, I realized it’s a different kind of empty.

There is the emptiness of mindfully cutting away
all the things that have been killing one’s spirit,
and allowing the kind of hunger that keeps you feeling alive.
This empty is a handcrafted bowl waiting to be filled
with whatever brings joy and curiosity.
This emptiness dwells in the light.

And then there is the emptiness that comes from being full
of things you don’t need or even want–
things make you comfortable, complacent and restless.
This empty is a fallow field where the hungry ghosts live,
haunting the psyche with an insatiable hunger.
This emptiness dwells in the shadows.

I lived overlong with the hungry ghosts.
I am happy to be hungry
and to let the emptiness
fill me.