The Darkness in my Chest

When did this dark shape rise in my chest
and form like the mouth of a cave?

No bright light I bring to bear
allows me to see how
this recess near my heart
came to be.

Once I was proud of my emptiness.
I'd hold out my hand to someone new and say,
They call me Merv;
I have hole in my chest.

Now I hide the fact I'm incomplete.
I look people in the face and tell them
I'm as good as you,
while ignoring how the words echo
through my cavernous insides.

How deeply I've gazed into its shadows.
Someday I may set out, flashlight in hand,
prepared for the long journey to the bottom.