broken glass

artwork by phil burns

Click here to hear the poet read his words:



broken glass

while changing a light bulb
I dropped the old one on the floor
which is tiled

who knew so little glass
could cover so much ground

I swept up of course
carefully and methodically
until I had every last piece
or so I thought

I was smart enough
to wear flip-flops
and not go barefoot
as is my norm

and the first crunch
proved the wisdom
of that decision

it occurred to me then
that walking in my home
was painfully similar
to our relationship
where I am constantly
walking on broken glass

the difference is just this
the glass
doesn’t try to hurt me

Unknown's avatar

About ceayr

A Scot who has discovered peace in a small town he calls Medville on the Côte Vermeille, C.E. Ayr has spent a large part of his life in the West of Scotland and a large part elsewhere. His first job was selling programmes at his local football club and he has since tried 73 other career paths, the longest being in IT, with varying degrees of success. He is somewhat nomadic, fairly irresponsible and, according to his darling daughter, a bit random. So, nobody’s perfect.
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9 Responses to broken glass

  1. Pingback: broken glass | anelephantcant

  2. jenne49's avatar jenne49 says:

    So much in this. I love how you see a sore metaphor for relationship in a simple household incident and turn it into a poem that’s understated but says so much. A powerful use of words.

  3. Beautiful poetic metaphor , CR.
    I loved reading and hearing it.
    Stay safe 😷 Isadora 😎

  4. Terveen Gill's avatar Terveen Gill says:

    Broken glass in so many forms.
    But the shards one treads upon in a bitter relationship hurt the most.
    Well said! 🙂

  5. trishsplace's avatar trishsplace says:

    Nice juxtaposition. And nice to see you.
    That lightbulb glass can be very fine.

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