“Bottles born to shatter” by Elizabeth Bernal

June 16, 2024

Poetry Pause celebrates the winners of the 2024 Jessamy Stursberg Poetry Prize for young writers! Read “Bottles born to shatter” by Elizabeth Bernal, third place winner of the junior category. Due to its formatting, this poem is only available as an image.

Bottles born to shatter

By Elizabeth Bernal

Hold me like the love you lost Hold me no matter the cost Hold me like the man you miss. Don’t say his name, just reminisce Dad, Oh dad Another bottle on the shelf Born to fall and shatter like the rest. Bottles and bottles of Jack we drank One more bottle, one more bottle. Till we reach farther, oh father, The bottles he drank, fell and shattered. Each bottle drank, is a bottle born to shatter How can you live when your life’s so scattered? Pieces lost. Fabric holes. Wind-blown ashes. Stories untold. Bottle by bottle Drink by drink Dad, oh dad, another bottle on the shelf Shattered. Before he could get any help.

Copyright © Elizabeth Bernal

Elizabeth Bernal is a grade 9 student. Elizabeth’s poem “Bottles born to shatter” won third place in the junior category of the 2024 Jessamy Stursberg Poetry Prize.

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