The Fire Sermon

Posted on 2019/02/26 by Bartholomew Barker

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The Fire Sermon

I write by candlelight
because everything’s burning

My body is smouldering
like a midnight log
nearly exhausted

My mind flickering
nightmares sputtering
phantoms of a wasted muse

Our planet boiling
hollowed by desire
thunder speaks to water

those words these thoughts
all less substantial
than this little flame

 

(from this week’s Living Poetry Prompt based on T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land)

About Bartholomew Barker

Bartholomew Barker is one of the organizers of Living Poetry, a collection of poets and poetry lovers in the Triangle region of North Carolina. Born and raised in Ohio, studied in Chicago, he worked in Connecticut for nearly twenty years before moving to Hillsborough where he makes money as a computer programmer to fund his poetry habit.
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11 Responses to The Fire Sermon

  1. Lisa Tomey says:
    2019/02/26 at 18:41

    WOW! Sends a message to reckon with.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. JeanMarie says:
    2019/02/26 at 21:31

    Nice. Just so you know, I have a draft started from that prompt. It just so happens I also chose The Fire Sermon. I am NOT copying you. :)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. Elizabeth says:
    2019/03/02 at 23:21

    “My body is smoldering like a midnight log” ~ great line. Haunting poem!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. ts19page says:
    2022/10/29 at 11:09

    Exactly! Few words, strong impact. Falling fast to flame.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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