What If?

Posted on 2025-04-01 by Bartholomew Barker

What if I only had a year to live?
I’d quit my day job,
throw myself into a poetic frenzy,
leave a literary mess
of wine stained pages
for someone else to clean up.

What if I had five years to live?
It’d be too soon to quit the day job,
not having sufficient savings,
and too far from the end
to even bother counting the sips
left ’til the bottom of the glass.

What if I had ten years left?
Being a man of a certain age
that’s not unreasonable
yet I still treat days
as though they grew on vines,
plucking sweet and juicy hours
ignoring the end of the row.

With no heaven in which to rest
and no hell to fear
I shall treat my remaining years
like the final case
from an abandoned vineyard,
with only so many bottles
left to savor and share.

 

(Happy National Poetry Month! This is a well-rejected poem that deserves to be read.)

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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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33 Responses to What If?

  1. DD's avatar DD says:
    2025-04-01 at 21:31

    If a well-rejected poem was worth reading, I might pair it with Zinfandel.
    Cheers!
    DD

    Liked by 1 person

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  2. JeanMarie's avatar JeanMarie says:
    2025-04-01 at 21:42

    Well done! Pass the bottle please, it you have a sweet rose

    Liked by 1 person

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  3. trE's avatar trE says:
    2025-04-01 at 22:43

    I . . . would have never rejected this piece.

    Liked by 1 person

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  4. Michele Lee's avatar Michele Lee says:
    2025-04-01 at 23:44

    Just had an image of you and poet Dylan Thomas reciting poetry and drinking wine together. 👏🏻

    Liked by 1 person

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  6. berniebell1955's avatar berniebell1955 says:
    2025-04-02 at 09:35

    Enjoy yourself….. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx0W42-2pds

    Liked by 1 person

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  7. thelongview's avatar thelongview says:
    2025-04-02 at 10:54

    I love how time expands and mellows over your poem!

    Liked by 1 person

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  8. thelongview's avatar thelongview says:
    2025-04-02 at 10:57

    The first verse brought echoes of ‘…always at my back I hear/Time’s winged chariot hurrying near…’

    Liked by 1 person

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  9. Dawn Pisturino's avatar Dawn Pisturino says:
    2025-04-04 at 11:02

    So beautiful and true!

    Liked by 1 person

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  10. luvgoodcarp's avatar luvgoodcarp says:
    2025-04-06 at 21:09

    Well done, Bart. Truly words to live (and die) by.

    Liked by 1 person

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  11. Kym Gordon Moore's avatar Kym Gordon Moore says:
    2025-04-07 at 13:14

    WOW Bartholomew, definitely these thoughts make you ruminate about mortality. So drink the wine! 🍷🍾🥂

    Liked by 1 person

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  12. Susi Bocks's avatar Susi Bocks says:
    2025-04-15 at 15:49

    “Enjoy the fruits” is what I’m hearing! And YES, to that! :)

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