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Poetry Prompts

Monday Poetry Prompt: Gratitude

This week let’s write a gratitude poem. This should be pretty straightforward and timely. Post a thankful poem in the comments below.

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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.

Discussion

18 thoughts on “Monday Poetry Prompt: Gratitude

  1. ts19page's avatar

    Gratitude Poem

    The Brim of Dying

    Youth is soft prelude,
    the drums and rush of sound come later
    and screech ear-splitting noise
    before the last of it.

    We sang as we drove the car
    the humming road an accompaniment,
    the trees rushed by
    and wildflowers lit the day.

    We were full to the brim
    and yet our hearts bore warning
    in this young valley distant slopes
    loomed.

    We did not have high
    altitude breathing
    You risked as much
    as space gave room,

    And shone with an aura
    that made me afraid,
    I must have known
    you would not last.

    When they laid you in the grave
    all truth of the world altered,
    hard courage,
    all that was left, a gift.

    I took it up
    a tool to to live by,
    residue
    of ruptured love.

    You must be existing somewhere,
    No one could lose forever such as you,
    not God, who placed you
    so close to his heart.

    Wherever your existence,
    from this constraint that is left,
    I carve out honeyed days, peace,
    and know that I am blest.

    Whatever cares
    for me,
    cares for you best,
    for all that loveliness.

    Liked by 2 people

    Posted by ts19page | November 22, 2021, 10:23 AM
  2. redfoxpoet's avatar

    For Sky

    Thank you, sky, for maple and ash
    that filter your gaze,
    for your wide blue face that
    blesses violets,
    Siberian wallflowers—those little
    golden suns—and deep purple iris.
    Thank you for your shimmering veil
    that keeps the fire from searing
    the green earth, and for birthing
    red-shouldered hawks that dip
    and swoop, connecting me to you.
    Thank you for your faithfulness
    through storms, mist, snow,
    for announcing each new day.
    Thank you for seeing me
    and letting me see you.

    Caroline Cottom

    Liked by 3 people

    Posted by redfoxpoet | November 22, 2021, 3:50 PM
  3. Second Act Blogger's avatar

    A job that does not eat my brain
    A team that follows me into the unknowable
    Adult children that still give spontaneous embraces
    A life partner who is my rock

    Liked by 3 people

    Posted by Second Act Blogger | November 27, 2021, 3:10 PM

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