Jackie sent me this photograph 

This Emptiness Inside

Men weep in a different way than women
Some women swear we never weep at all
We carry pain around for years
Can't fill a cup with tears
And going down pretend we're standing tall

Men weep in a different way than women
It ain't pretty when we come undone
You can judge me, you can scold me
You can hate me, you can hold me
You told me one day all my tears would come

This emptiness inside me
I'm old and still it's there
It goes with me everywhere
It won't respond to prayer
It's the one part I can't scare
You only see it when I'm bare of pride
Secret tears, they're nothing I can't hide
This emptiness, oh, this emptiness
I carry 'round this emptiness inside

Men feel in a different way than women
A kind of silence no one taught to speak
My feelings, I can't show them
I am the last to know them
When they come they leave me feeling weak

Men feel in a different way than women
There's a softness that we never reconcile
You can read me, you can bleed me
You can feed me, you can need me
Now and then you even make me smile

At this emptiness inside me
I'm old and still it's there
It goes with me everywhere
It won't respond to prayer
It's the one part you can't scare
You only see it when I'm bare of pride
Haunted feelings, nothing I can't hide
This emptiness, oh, this emptiness
I carry 'round this emptiness inside

Men love in a different way than women
Some women say we never love at all
It's an earned love not a sold love
Not a new love, but an old love
It doesn't always have a name to call

Men love in a different way than women
One hand is life, the other hand is death
You can spite me, you can hit me
You can bite me, you can quit me
You can fight me 'til I'm out of breath

This emptiness inside me
I'm old and still it's there
It goes with me everywhere
It won't respond to prayer
It's the one part you can't scare
You only see it when I'm bare of pride
My love for you, it's nothing I can't hide
This emptiness, oh, this emptiness
I carry 'round this emptiness inside

DL