when Emptiness bleeds

Refined Version The silence lingers a little longer; even between the noises I feel its whisper pulling me through. The hollow is deepening— waves of emptiness rise, and I am drowning. nothing has meaning. peace is a distant illusion. the emptiness is bleeding into me. How do I escape it? How can I be a saint and still feel void? Beauty I have sought. Affirmation I have received, yet the void only widened. Love I pursued, and the most charming of all I found, yet my hunger only increased. Reputation I chased; honor was laid at my feet, and still my soul was empty. Friends I gathered, the loveliest among them, yet loneliness still stayed. The satisfaction I searched for has not been given. I am running in circles: seeking yet never finding, yearning yet never quenched. How long, O weary heart, will you keep searching for satisfaction in these vain things of life? How wide and deep will this emptiness run before you turn back to Him? How long will you wander, O despondent heart, before you rest in Him?