Crossing the Sea of Shattered Glass by R.B. Bunn

Poignant and painful in its clarity, Crossing the Sea of Shattered Glass: A Voyage Through Grief by R.B. Bunn is a powerful collection of poetry that explores the universal experience of regret and loss.

Writing specifically about his uncle’s death and long struggle with addiction, Bunn’s poems range from deeply personal memories and anecdotal reflections to lyrical abstractions with dense metaphors about emotional processing. Pieces such as “Double-Edged Pill” and “The Price of a Bottle” are unflinching examinations of addiction and self-destruction, while “The Fishing Rod” and “Smoke” tenderly peel back the poet’s life and memory, as though longing for youthful naivete and freedom.

Bunn plays with both form and meter, with varying success, as the pieces with clear rhyming patterns can lack consistency and are peppered with slant rhymes that feel forced into place. That said, the poems are intended as a raw outpouring of experience, and Bunn’s bluntness and scattered imprecision allow his most profound lines to echo even louder.

While this collection is somewhat rough around the edges, for any reader seeking solace over loss, guilt, anger, or uncertainty, these poems offer a sage balm for unhealed emotional wounds.

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