Sonnet for a Comet

Posted on 2020/07/16 by Bartholomew Barker

Comet_2020_F3-skyview

Sonnet for a Comet

With wandering Zeus and Ares
guarding my back, I hunt—
binoculars scanning distant
trees for something even further.

Orion won’t help, he’s resting
after a busy winter— this prey
is elusive and won’t to return,
for a lifetime of lifetimes.

But the glow of the sun
just below the horizon
and the haze of humid summer
conspire to shield my quarry.

I won’t have many more chances
but I’ll try again tonight.

 

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. 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 makes money as a computer programmer to fund his poetry habit.
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26 Responses to Sonnet for a Comet

  1. Lisa Tomey says:
    2020/07/16 at 19:40

    May your pursuit be successful. Nicely done.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  2. Cassa Bassa says:
    2020/07/16 at 20:23

    Hope another night another clearer sky.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. Kritika says:
    2020/07/17 at 02:38

    Same here. I have been trying to figure out this comet and am unable to. Rain clouds are up. Hopefully tonight.
    Lovely sonnet.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. carolyncordon says:
    2020/07/19 at 22:50

    I love being about to recognise a couple of things in my Southern Sky when outside at night.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Bartholomew Barker says:
      2020/07/19 at 23:13

      I’ve only visited the southern hemisphere a few times but the sky is so beautiful. The Southern Cross is gorgeous and it’s so cool to see Alpha Centauri knowing it’s practically the closest star to our Sun.

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      • carolyncordon says:
        2020/07/19 at 23:21

        Obviously, you are a keen follower of the night skies. I’m more an occasional glancer at the skies, but feel it would be good to know more.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Bartholomew Barker says:
        2020/07/19 at 23:44

        I’ve been a stargazer since I was a wee lad and even went to college intending to become an astronomer. While that didn’t happen, I still love the night sky.

        Liked by 1 person

      • carolyncordon says:
        2020/07/20 at 00:01

        I live in a rural area, with practically no street lights around at night except for some solar lights that come on at some houses, and the leakage of light from the houses in the township I live it. It’s an excellent place for watching the night skies, when there’s not too much cloud about.
        I like to go out the front, every now and then to look at the stars, planets, and moon ‘doing their thing’. But I now realise it’s time for me to actually look into what the things I call ‘planets’ are. Venus and Mars, I’m assuming …

        Liked by 1 person

      • Bartholomew Barker says:
        2020/07/20 at 16:52

        That’s right. There are a few more you can see too. These days the planet Jupiter is bright in your northern sky. It rises at sunset and will be highest in the sky around midnight. You might notice another relatively bright star near Jupiter and that’s the planet Saturn. If you get really curious there are plenty of star chart websites out there where you can enter your location and time and it’ll show you what you’re looking at. I envy your skies.

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  5. Shanyu says:
    2020/07/22 at 02:10

    A wonderful free verse sonnet! It’s the best of both worlds! The amazing scheme of a sonnet and the fluidity of the free verse. I hope you are successful in spotting it though!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  6. Nawazish says:
    2020/07/25 at 15:08

    Very well expressed!!

    I have a small request to make…please check out my blog when you have time!!🤗🤗🤗

    Liked by 1 person

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