Nightcap – A Poem

There’s something cheeky about this trompe l’oeil painting, that seems to suggest someone’s raided the pantry for a little nightcap.

From the Art Institute Chicago description: “In Just Dessert, the exotic clashes with the quotidian—Maraschino liqueur, half a coconut, and Smyrna figs rest alongside a copper pitcher, pewter tankard, and ginger jar. Small crumbs of cork are visible on the grapes and fig seeds are smashed on the side of the wooden box, indicating that the dessert has been eaten.”

Figs, coconut, liqueur – sounds like a cocktail nightcap to me.

The form of this six-line poem is a gwawdodyn hir. More of my ekphrastic poetry here.

Nightcap

Your fingers of coconut, you licked.
The maraschino liqueur, you sipped.
Smashed fig from the box, that you had shipped.
The ginger against your mouth, tight-lipped.
You asked what you did to deserve all this.
A grape. A kiss. Over your tongue, time slipped.

©elsp 2025