THE HOLLOW MEN REVISITED

When you strip it down
Strip it all down
Down to what's essential
What are we really

After all the wars and governments
The religious rites and services
After all the hype and propaganda
Ticker-tape parades

Do we even know
Know what it's for
Does it mean anything
Anything at all

Beneath the painted eyes and lips and cheeks
Behind the skin and sinew
Under the blood and finger-nails
Bones hide the emptiness

We are hollow at the core
Marrow and gray mass are all that make us more
More than hollow reeds dancing at the whim
Whim of the restless wind

And so we strut and fret
But what's the fretting for
To hide
To hide the truth

Deep down
Deep down in our bones
The bones know it's a sham
We all know the truth

Know that all we are
All we really are
Is the stuff that fills the space
Fills the void inside

Stuffs the cracks
Keeps the wind at bay
So briefly, Ever so briefly
And then, No more

Did I scare you?
Didn't mean to scare you
I'll tell you a secret--
It scares me too