One On One With An Empty Glass Poem by RIC BASTASA

the final confrontation is finally set on the table
the mantel still pretends to be clean
the morsels are polite and the empty glass is civil

just a while ago, it was filled with water
up to the brim and now it is thirsty again
and it stares at me begging for more
but i give it silence hoping that it shall remember
what origin it has
from the department store

it stares at me and threatens me with the pain of emptiness
it does not move
giving me the semblance of an earth that stops to spin
nothing falls and the possibility of freezing is pestering me

i lay my hand on the chest telling it that i am not at all disturbed
i listen to the rhythmic beatings of my heart
i bite my lips like bread using my teeth
i close my eyes and begin my journey inward
my gut

i remember the sound of the broken glass
i recall how i sweep the shattered pieces
i still picture myself digging a hole and burying what should be forgotten

i do not sleep and i do not dream much
i breathe more air and then i awaken all my senses
the glass is empty still and it is there to manifest a surrender

i have learned to fill my lungs with air
the moments pass away taking all that i have and now
i am full.