The Luster of Gold

Posted on 2020-03-10 by Bartholomew Barker

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The Luster of Gold

“God does not play dice.”
Albert Einstein on Quantum Mechanics

I order another glass
of wine after calculating
the odds my date
will be late
for dinner.

While at the bar
my phone jiggles
and I learn she’s lost.
She blames GPS
but the probabilities
calculated by her phone
and the satellites
in distant orbits
cancel out.

The universe plays dice
and we bet the pass line
to determine our position
on this dying planet
or where the tumors
in our aging bodies lie.

Quantum mechanics seems impractical
in our Newtonian world
but it gives gold its luster
and brings beauty to my sight—
eventually.

(From Monday’s Living Poetry Prompt, “Practical“.)

 

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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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7 Responses to The Luster of Gold

  1. Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld's avatar Lisa Tomey says:
    2020-03-11 at 06:37

    eventually… says it all

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  2. Cassa Bassa's avatar Cassa Bassa says:
    2020-03-11 at 07:35

    I like it a lot!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

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