In preparation for a poetry talk I’ll be giving this week, I ran across this little poem by Dorothea Grossman:
For Allen Ginsberg
Among other things,
thanks for explaining
how the generous death
of old trees
forms
the red powdered floor
of the forest.
So, this week let’s write a poem thanking another poet for something. Post your gratitudes in the comments below.
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.
Living Poetry 
For Bartholomew
Thank you for
pushing poetry,
prompt by prompt;
writing sonnets like Willy Shakes,
and proving over and over
that Poets lie
so they can tell the truth.
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Posted by JeanMarie | November 26, 2019, 12:32 AMBelieve it or not, I was not fishing for gratitude with this prompt. None the less, thank you and you’re welcome.
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | November 26, 2019, 5:41 PMSometimes a man fishes, and sometimes he has fish thrust upon him. Either way, don’t be stingy with the lemon. It pairs well with just about anything that lives in the water.
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Posted by JeanMarie | November 26, 2019, 9:39 PMI second that with a BRAVO!
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Posted by Lisa Tomey | November 28, 2019, 12:52 PM#Haiku
I have never known
Poetry sings in my heart
Until I met Keats
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Posted by Cassa Bassa | November 26, 2019, 1:05 AMNice little haiku. Thanks!
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | November 26, 2019, 5:42 PMAww such a whispering kiss to this poet!
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Posted by Lisa Tomey | November 28, 2019, 12:51 PMThanks Lisa!
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Posted by Cassa Bassa | November 28, 2019, 3:05 PMThank You Wallace Stevens
For explaining jars on hills
in Tennessee
The mysteries of blackbirds and
their entanglement in so much of life’s meanings
How best to have a mind of winter
and that the only emperor is of ice-cream
None of it makes
the most wonderful sense now
Thank you
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Posted by steve Croft | November 26, 2019, 11:28 AMExcellent! I used to live in Hartford, not far from where he lived.
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | November 26, 2019, 5:43 PMEnjoyed this and, of course, ice cream!
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Posted by Lisa Tomey | November 28, 2019, 12:51 PMJust posted a grateful poem to my blog, https://bartbarkerpoet.com/2019/11/26/grateful/
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | November 26, 2019, 5:44 PMHow cool. I followed Lisa over here and have written my poem of gratitude here:
https://shiftnshake.wordpress.com/2019/11/28/thank-a-poet/
Thank you very much for the prompt.
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Posted by D. Avery @shiftnshake | November 28, 2019, 11:13 AMYou’re very welcome. I hadn’t heard of Robert Service before. I’ll have to check him out.
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | November 28, 2019, 11:21 AMWelcome to the club, D. Avery! We are well prompted every Monday!!
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Posted by Lisa Tomey | November 28, 2019, 12:47 PM