Barbara Holder // Poetry

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Cooking

Halving the butternut squash, I am
shocked by its core: within the orange flesh
a scalp of coarse dark hair,
and wide, wet seeds--intact teeth--
fragments of a corpse lying in a gilt bed,
staring at me. It is as though
I had uncovered the demon heart
of a golden child.

Born in Brooklyn, Barbara Holder received her B.S., M.A., and M. Phil.from Columbia University. She served as an adjunct associate professor of English at Pace University in Westchester County, where she initiated and hosted a series of readings by some of the most eminent poets of our time. She conducted poetry and journaling workshops in many venues. Her poems have appeared in a variety of periodicals and anthologies. Her book, Black Birds, White Stones, was published a few months after her sudden death in March 2005.

Date of Publication: 02 May 2007