Floating face up in a lake
on an early autumn night
If I don’t stare at the girl
galaxy next door I can just see
the smudge of Andromeda’s ancient light
like a threadbare nightgown
Ears underwater hear muffled
details of snoring fish
and snakes undulating
across tepid waves
But I keep sinking so I must paddle
to keep the peace and avoid the rings
of cordless telephones and blatherskites
bragging on the evening talk news shows
(for Sammi’s Weekend Writing Prompt and Living Poetry’s Monday Prompt.)
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.
Bartholomew Barker, Poet 
“the smudge of Andromeda’s ancient light
like a threadbare nightgown” what a vivid image! 👍
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Thanks, CB! It’s always a challenge to see her with my naked eyes even on a clear dark night.
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Snoring fish
Well done
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Thanks, JM! We’re lucky fish sleep deep.
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How true! An lovely picture to float to escape. Thanks!
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Danke! I have been writing a lot of “escape” poetry recently. That’s probably not a good thing.
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Maybe. But maybe it shows that you need some time out. And than it is a good thing because it is a sign. You just need to heed the sign and adjust accordingly.
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Good advice!
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Hard to choose which lines to highlight – and I love the use of the word ‘blatherskites’ – ain’t they just!
Going in m’blog….
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Thanks, Bernie! Blatherskites was new word for me. I’m glad Sammi made a prompt with it.
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Ta-dah! And you’re in good company….
http://www.spanglefish.com/berniesblog/blog.asp?blogid=16499
Blatherskites are akin to Gobshites.
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Thank you, BB!
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So beautiful!!!
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Grazie, Luisa! Hope you have a lake like this in your life.
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My lake, Lake Como, is smaller but equally fascinating🙏🙏🙏
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Your Lake Como is much bigger than my old Lake Manitook.
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Is it? In the photo it appears boundless 💜💜💜
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That’s just a stock photo. My lake was small enough to swim across comfortably.
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Beautiful 🏊♂️
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