Hollow man

Swallowed by the world, a shadowless man wandered past me. He asked me for directions and a way to go. I saw his lips move but heard no voice. I saw his searching eyes but no light in them. I heard the hollow ring of a tin box when he walked and not the sound of footsteps. Deserted by his shadow with no where to go, he said he was the hollow man, the King of Pain. Staring into the well of echoes that was bored into his soul I saw the reflection of a face I know well. And then I saw darkness more primitive than the ancient night.