An empty void,
Dark and inhospitable.
Desolate.
Barren and blank.

Lingering shards
Of a once beating heart.
Had it never found a rhythm
It may not have fallen apart.

A standing ovation
For a display of dismay,
Yet where he once stood
Only ashes remain.

The wrappings unravel,
To reveal a smiling porcelain mask.
A scarred face frowning beneath,
And the empty void beneath that.