They say that the absence of a thing
is not a thing in itself.
Yet, somehow, we fill ourselves up
with reality television--
empty of morals,
empty of thoughts,
empty of the very essence of reality.

The atheist will say
that atheism is the absence of faith,
yet, in a way, atheism depends on the faith
that there is nothing to have faith in.

In a way, depression is a void,
it is the opposite of life,
the absence of joy,
the definition of emptiness,
yet, ask anyone who has been depressed,
and they will tell you how full and rotten
nothingness can feel.

The absence of a thing
becomes a thing,
because it has an idea behind it.
It has a need for a word--
a definition,
and by defining them,
we give the non-things shapes,
we give them outlines and edges and volume and meaning.

In our modern world,
we have the ability to choose,
between filling ourselves up
with true-things and non-things,
because even an empty jar takes up room.