Bartholomew Barker is an organizer of Living Poetry, where he has hosted monthly workshops 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 the Pushcart Prize in 2021, 2024 & 2025 as well as the Best of the Net Anthology in 2024. His work has appeared in The Lake, Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, Panoply, Tipton Poetry Journal, the Gyroscope Review and the Naugatuck River Review among others.
Words on a Tree
words that sparkle, shine
gleaming in the dark
lit by candles
or
tiny white lights
words that endorse
encourage a sad face
emboldened
by a hug
or
pats on the back
words from sheet music
making you sing
notes shooting out
or
imbedded under skin
words printed, lasting
read over and over
in wee books
or
in letters kept forever.
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Posted by purplestoneblog | December 7, 2020, 1:05 PMLove the first stanza. Great work!
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | December 7, 2020, 7:26 PMthanks. good prompt.
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Posted by purplestoneblog | December 7, 2020, 7:51 PMThis is like a song.
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Posted by Lisa Tomey | December 8, 2020, 9:31 PMInstructional Haiku:
Peace, Joy and Love are
not just for the holidays.
Practice them all year long.
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Posted by JeanMarie | December 7, 2020, 3:22 PMHear! Hear!
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | December 7, 2020, 7:27 PMgood idea, well put.
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Posted by purplestoneblog | December 7, 2020, 7:52 PMAbsolutely!
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Posted by Lisa Tomey | December 8, 2020, 9:28 PMLittle Golden Books
Under Christmas trees
Wrapped in shiny paper
I knew it was just for me
Nothing makes me happy
Like books under the tree
The gift of words of prose
Are ones which bring such glee
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Posted by Lisa Tomey | December 8, 2020, 9:36 PMI still have one of those Golden Books, Bartholomew the Beaver. Nice work!
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | December 8, 2020, 9:39 PMOf course! You must keep that one.
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Posted by Lisa Tomey | December 9, 2020, 12:53 AMIt’s worth a fortune! But priceless to you, I am sure.
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Posted by Lisa Tomey | December 9, 2020, 3:25 PM