You said I haven’t been myself
But I think that’s still me
Just quieter
Just unspooling slow
Like thread that doesn’t want to sew

I kept my room clean for a week
Then stopped leaving bed instead
My thoughts don't fight or flee these days
They just go quiet in my head

I shake hands with the void
Every morning by the sink
He doesn’t talk, but he listens
Better than I think

I name the shadows in the grout
Let them echo what I doubt

I call my friends and let it ring
Then hang up before it lands
Just wanted proof the line still works
That someone might still understand

I draw the blinds, then stare at them
Like they owe me something warm
But all they spill is filtered grey
And I forget what light is for

I shake hands with the void
Every morning by the sink
He doesn’t talk, but he listens
Better than I think

The faucet drips like passing time
A quiet, self-erasing rhyme

I shake hands with the void
Every morning by the sink
He doesn’t talk, but he listens
Better than I think

“Some days, I don’t want to die.
I just don’t want to be anything.”

Shaking Hands with the Void

I make albums for fictional bands with assistance of AI tools.

Shaking Hands with the Void

Joel Leonard