A Jar's Story Poem by RIC BASTASA

from the start
the hands that shaped you
designed you to be empty
you were named
Jar,

someone so
beautiful and rich
takes you
away from your
maker

those hands
cannot hold you for long
because they are
empty and hungry
hands

and then she fills
you with perfume
and all those who attend
the parties of the
world
dip their fingers
in your scent

they crowd around you
and you are loved
not for what you are
but what you
can give

scents, scents,
all scents

you begin to miss
your original form
the beauty that you
possess

when you were
once empty

you miss the whisper
of space inside
your belly

the hush of the wind
that rests in
your heart

you forget the name
that was given to you

Jar is your name
but are not one of them
anymore

you are the scent
of their necks
hanging on their
jaws and navels

your contents
fill now their fantasies

your hollowness
they now discard