The Loneliest Man in the World Answers Your Question by Jim Pratzon

Just because I’m holding it

       doesn’t mean the cup is warm or full.
       doesn’t mean the gun is loaded,
       doesn’t mean the poem is complete,
             waiting for you,
             a meal after a long journey

In this plot’s center, look:
       a grain silo.
It’s been abandoned by the former owner.
The soil is rich but there is no seed.
Even the mice are gone.
Kites and jays land only for respite before looking elsewhere.
The emptiness amplifies their weight and impact,
       and each departure sounds determined and final.

While I want you to pour yourself in,
       what I need is your curiosity to stir.
Empty vessels hunger for dignity,
       a noble form, a purpose.
       They need use.

Not sure if there is space inside?
Throw a rock and listen for the sound of my capacity.
Throw another if you need to be sure.
I can take it.

Pour your self into this man’s womb.
Nothing happens in solitude.

Jim Pratzon has recorded ten audiobooks for the New York Public Library, including William Marshall's The New York Detective, The Complete Short Stories of H.P. Lovecraft, and William Burroughs'The Job. He has performed his poetry at the KGB Bar, the 92ndSt.Y, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters.