Happy National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day! Post your mouth-watering poem 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 
Anticipation & Eating of Chocolate Covered Cherries
Cellophane packaging so tight, so precise, for a reason
once I get past the wrapping, I slowly open the box
then inhale the sweetness, sugar grabs my throat
salivation takes over, before placing one luscious brown
chocolate covered cherry on my tongue
letting the heat of my eager mouth melt the shell
to expose the dripping juices encasing the jewel
the long anticipated cherry center asks to be bitten
chewed to no more, and polished with a glass of merlot.
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Posted by Lisa Tomey | January 3, 2022, 7:33 PMDelicious! I especially liked the 6th-8th lines but I question your choice of Merlot at the end. Too dry. I think you want a sweet sparkling red. (Trust me, I know chocolate and wine.) Great poem!
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | January 4, 2022, 7:18 PMThank you. I was going for the balance of sweet and dry, but true that sweet wine would enhance.
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Posted by Lisa Tomey | January 7, 2022, 5:13 AMlove the sensual buildup and the restraint – that is not one of my best character traits
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Posted by Second Act Blogger | January 7, 2022, 4:27 PMImperfect
Skin peeling
tearing from the body
Oozing from a seeming wound
I close my eyes
and clear my mind
as I test
then savor
the moist treat before me
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Posted by Chris Clarke | January 4, 2022, 1:34 PMTasty! Love the oozing from a wound. Great work!
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | January 4, 2022, 7:19 PMAll sorts of yum.
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Posted by Lisa Tomey | January 7, 2022, 5:14 AMHer Lips
Library seems to be a boring place
But if you know where to look
there are treasures hidden between those old pine bookshelves
Her lips are one of those treasures
When she is focused on reading
Her dark hair drape to cover her face
The mid morning sun penetrades her hair
through the breezy window
licking her chocolate coated cherry lips
I’m barely able to sit still
The urge to grab the sunlight by the throat keep building up
I get totally consumed by jealousy
Library can be a battlefield
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Posted by Cassa Bassa | January 4, 2022, 10:10 PMWow. Hot! I love libraries even more now.
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | January 4, 2022, 10:15 PMI bet you do 😁
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Posted by Cassa Bassa | January 4, 2022, 10:17 PMWow! Great build up.
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Posted by Lisa Tomey | January 7, 2022, 5:15 AMThanks Lisa 😊
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Posted by Cassa Bassa | January 7, 2022, 7:22 AMLikeLiked by 1 person
Posted by Bartholomew Barker | January 5, 2022, 8:27 PMWell done.
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Posted by Lisa Tomey | January 7, 2022, 5:18 AMI can’t resist Queen Anne’s
Chocolate Covered Cherries
The sweet that makes my teeth hurt
A liquid rush of endorphins
Sticky lips, I regret nothing
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Posted by JeanMarie | January 6, 2022, 2:01 AMLive and write with no regrets. Well done!
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | January 6, 2022, 6:59 PMExactly!
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Posted by Lisa Tomey | January 7, 2022, 5:16 AMNaked Cherries
Why can’t a cherry be enjoyed in its naked state?
We insist on embalming it in sugar or enrobing it in chocolate
Don’t fear the pit
Take a chance and bite down
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Posted by Second Act Blogger | January 7, 2022, 4:21 PMExcellent metaphor! Well done!
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | January 7, 2022, 7:56 PMThanks!
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Posted by Second Act Blogger | January 7, 2022, 10:27 PM