Three Bottles

Posted on 2021-04-14 by Bartholomew Barker

For today’s prompt from Robert Lee Brewer’s Write Better Poetry blog, write a poem inspired only by stimulus from where you’re sitting (or standing, if you write will standing). In the past, I’ve written poems about pencils, characters in books I can see, and things I can see out my window when using this prompt. So consider your immediate surroundings and poem away today.

Three Bottles

I keep three bottles of memories
on my desk, collected years ago,
distilled to essential oils.

The first smells of mothballs
and grandma— playing in her house
of lush upholstery and affection.

The second smells like piña colada
from the body spray of a girlfriend
who lost her bra in my bed.

The third has been forgotten,
its plastic sprayer clogged with some emotion—
grief, rage or terror. Who knows?

I could crack the lid, sealed shut by time
but some vessels are best left unopened.

Unknown's avatar

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.
This entry was posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

9 Responses to Three Bottles

  1. Cassa Bassa's avatar Cassa Bassa says:
    2021-04-14 at 22:20

    I love this piece! Characters well described!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. Carolyn Crossley VixenOfVerse's avatar Carolyn Crossley VixenOfVerse says:
    2021-04-15 at 08:16

    This is delightful and I love the cautionary note on the end! ❤👩‍🦰❤

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a reply to JeanMarie Cancel reply