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We Are Broken Bottles (poem)

By Malachi Muncy

Reflected florescence
Refracted candescents
Nuance of neons
Outshining ions
Broken bottles
Glisten in the gutter

There is more glass in the streets here
than stars in the sky
More light in liquor stores
than shining in eyes

The bottoms of bulbs and bowls burn
brightly in front of our face
Outshining the hell we live in
as hell is outshining space

Reflected florescence
Refracted candescents
Nuance of neons
Outshining ions
Broken bottles
Glisten in the gutter

Fueled by pharmaceuticals
pill bottle bottoms bomb us
But other people's pills
are other people's problems

Even after emptying every vexing vessel to maintain
memories
mixing menacing most minds may contain
Because this is a military town
there is no such thing as sane

Reflected florescence
Refracted candescents
Nuance of neons
Outshining ions
WE are broken bottles
and the might of the military is reflected in our remains.

—Malachi Muncy