Poetry Magazine
Lacrimarium
Were there a tear
To spare, where better
To be sure the gesture
Would linger than here
In its own little bottle
Blown from a hot bubble
To mirror a tear.
And were there more
Than one could bear,
So much the better
In the hereafter for
The begetter, a little
Vessel to stopper
Sorrow beyond measure.
And were there a tear
Too few, far better to hire
A weeper, for where
But in a tearful little
Jigger does it figure
No one need settle for
Less than a fair share.
Source: Poetry (March 2013).
Biography
David Barber’s most recent collection is Wonder Cabinet (Northwestern University Press, 2006). He is poetry editor of the Atlantic.
Poem Categorization
SUBJECT Living, Death, Sorrow & Grieving
Poetic Terms Free Verse
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