Source
r/OCPoetry•
TyroneBerndread

The Bottle

Poem

My grandma lived with a bottle.

She hid it so we didn’t see, but we always knew the bottle was there.

Behind blackjacks, butterscotch and an old crummy biscuit tin,

It’s smooth edges beckoning her everyday.

.

During visits it sat in its home behind our treats,

During picnics it sat in the basket,

During birthdays it sat in her purse,

During weddings it sat between her breasts.

.

I didn’t like the bottle,

What it did, what it made my gran into...

A single sip of the bottle made her rage and scream.

And with her rage came force and anger

And with her screaming came lies

And secrets never supposed to be un-secreted

About anyone she knew secrets about

(My grandfather inevitably becoming the victim).

.

Bottle started when she was a teenager,

But Bottle continued bashing and bounding through years and years:

Pregnancy, work, divorce, rehab,

Bottle brewed it’s seed of hatred,

Every year taking a piece of gran with it,

Replacing every year more and more with Bottle.

.

I was 14 when Bottle took me away from Gran.

She couldn’t remember my face

but she remembered Bottle very well.

.

I was 15 when Bottle took away her legs,

She couldn’t walk to get Bottle,

So Bottle nestled closer to her chair.

.

I was 16 when Bottle took away her children.

She couldn’t stand a house she didn’t know,

And Bottle rested now under her pillow.

.

I was 17 when Bottle took her away.

Just like always, Bottle was nasty and wicked.

Slowly limping out her end,

Poaching her lungs, her liver

Stuffing her stomach up.

Bottle made her death slow as she starved,

Her thirst not being quenched by Bottle.

1 - https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/xheyeq/highfunctioning_member_of_the_polar_ice_cap/ioxcz8a/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3

2 - https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/xh6qxu/animals_3_different_ones/ioxdyk9/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3

Posted Sep 18, 2022, 2:02 PM UTC

64
MagnificentOxman•

I absolutely can't say enough about the super clever switch of "a bottle", "the bottle", to the making it a proper noun, capital letter and all : Bottle. This actually humanized the alcohol, instead of using words and terms like "disease", "addiction", "dependency", this painted Bottle as an actual malevolent force and gave the poem a really sinister edge.

2
AutoModeratorMOD•

Hello readers, welcome to OCpoetry. This subreddit is a writing workshop community -- a place where poets of all skill levels can share, enjoy, and talk about each other's poetry. Every person who's shared, including the OP above, has given some feedback (those are the links in the post) and hopes to receive some in return (from you, the readers).

If you really enjoyed this poem and just want to drop a quick comment, to show some appreciation or give kudos, things like "great job!" or "made me cry", or "loved it" or "so relateable", please do. Everyone loves a compliment. Thanks for taking the time to read and enjoy.

If you want to share your own poem, you'll need to give this writer some detailed feedback. Good feedback explains from your point of view what it was like to read the poem, and then tries to explain how the poem made you feel like that. If you're not sure what that means, check out our feedback guide, or look through the comment sections of any other post here, or click the links to the author's feedback above. If you're not sure whether your comments are feedback, or you have any other questions, please send us a modmail.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1
w0ke_up•

This is a very moving piece. Thank you for sharing.

I am sorry for your loss. It is true that her thirst was never satiated by Bottle because what she thirsted for was not inside Bottle, it was only on the images outside of Bottle. Bottle’s friends and biggest supporters told gran that Bottle would quench what she needed, but that was just a lie they too were told.

1
thatemilygirl22•

Really love your work here--entire piece was engaging and gripping to read.

Imagery was on point too. Felt like I could envision every description.

1