My Nepenthe

Posted on 2018-08-27 by Bartholomew Barker

bottle-1546720-639x958WordPress let me know recently that it’s been five years since I started this blog. Happy birthday to me, I suppose. Since I first started blogging to help promote my first book, Wednesday Night Regular, here’s one of the poems found within. It’s one of my favorites and just as true today as it was five years ago.

My Nepenthe

Dying from thirst and memory
She offers me a smile
A cool smooth cyan liquid
In a clear goblet

Fascinating it dances with light
Twirls in my hand relaxing
Sorrow falling away
Like clothes in sweltering summer

Into her glittering pools I dive
To drown in sweet distraction
Why surface to breathe poison
When she heals as my nepenthe

 

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About Bartholomew Barker

Bartholomew Barker is an organizer of Living Poetry, a collection of poets in the Triangle region of North Carolina where he has hosted a monthly feedback workshop for more than decade. His first poetry collection, Wednesday Night Regular, written in and about strip clubs, was published in 2013. His second, Milkshakes and Chilidogs, a chapbook of food inspired poetry was served in 2017. He was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2021. Born and raised in Ohio, studied in Chicago, he worked in Connecticut for nearly twenty years before moving to Hillsborough where he lives and writes poetry.
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5 Responses to My Nepenthe

  1. Allie's avatar Allie says:
    2018-08-27 at 20:09

    Then it’s a double birthday, because I happen to know it’s your birthday month. Take a full 30 days to enjoy!

    Lovely poem. A woman must be very lucky for you to describe her so.

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  2. JeanMarie's avatar JeanMarie says:
    2018-08-28 at 03:33

    Happy Anniversary. The traditional gift for the 5th year is Wood. I may have a spoon with your name on it. :)

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