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
Monuments
Ahh!
monuments
men build ‘em
feed their egos
use any excuse,
to tell the world
how great they are
do they reflect
honor, freedom
or
opportunity.
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Posted by purplestoneblog | January 4, 2021, 9:14 AMAh. Reminds me of Ozymandias.
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | January 4, 2021, 7:36 PMI was thinking of some statues being torn down in Eastern Europe (and earlier times in European revolutions) and Southern statues being removed. This was before the attack in Wash. D. C. And thank you, i did need to look up the word; love learning new words.
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Posted by purplestoneblog | January 9, 2021, 5:37 PMGood questions. Nicely done.
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Posted by Lisa Tomey | January 9, 2021, 8:45 AMFrom quarried stone
a monument is carved
an image of greatness
is lifted up
Indelible, yes
inspirational, of course
feel the winter sun on your back
warm
and know that the work is never done
Hear the finches song
in the bare trees beyond
buoy you up
for what is to come
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Posted by Chris Clarke | January 4, 2021, 8:35 PMVery nice. Indeed, the work is never done.
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | January 4, 2021, 8:56 PMalways something to come…well done.
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Posted by Lisa Tomey | January 9, 2021, 8:45 AMMonuments
statues of stone
chipped away to features
eyes to emphasize watchfulness
a nose to inspire staying involved
a mouth to encourage orating
a chin to stay firm with resolve
standing firm
like the statue
is of great importance
even when standing firm
means turning the stone
to sand
to prevent erosion
of humankind
or do we move monuments
to museums
with notations
of the value of awareness
that the statue no longer
is about about the same
values
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Posted by Lisa Tomey | January 9, 2021, 8:44 AMExcellent! Love the progression in the description of the face.
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | January 9, 2021, 10:42 AMThank you! It’s taken me all week to write it in my mind.
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Posted by Lisa Tomey | January 9, 2021, 3:40 PM