Empties

 by J. K. Durick         

They didn’t come this way, full of promise and potential back then,
But this is their destiny, the end result of their design, their promise,
In this case emptiness is fulfillment, something they finally achieved.

They line up on counters and tables, pile in the sink, one or two roll
Under the couch, reminders, a measure of things that were and will be,
Part of the debris we leave behind, markers of our beginnings and end.

Later, of course, we’ll bag them up and bring them back, fill our day,
As empty as it might be, with empties, get our deposit back, ransom
Paid we return them back to be filled full of our/their lives once more.

Near here it’s called “the redemption center,” back of the Bottle Store
We line up, bumper to bumper, bags full, trunks full, pickups loaded
Down full of our empties, redemption should always be just this easy