This week let’s write an erosion poem. What is the rain? What gets swept away? What remains? Let us know 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 
we eye the summer sky
search for clouds that darkly hover
wait for change
towels hang
swimsuits on the ready
clouds rush, rains fall
puddles form
soils, grasses, pop up wormy delights
bird chatter at their finds
as peeks the sun, once again
we rush to the door
open to the warmth and dry views
jump in our suits, grab towels
off to swim in another glorious
post rainy swim
aah– freshness prevails
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Posted by Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld | July 10, 2023, 9:42 AMI totally get the “feel” of summer from your poem! “pop up wormy delights” – I visualized from a birds eye few (and mine, also). “swimsuits on the ready”. I pictured people dashing towards the door to exit into possibly brief moments of sun – before rainfalls begin again. Great summer poem! from: Ronnie – (Garden of Neuro)
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Posted by Ronnie | July 10, 2023, 10:06 AMThank you!
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Posted by Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld | July 10, 2023, 12:07 PMBeautiful! Love the “pop up wormy delights” !
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | July 10, 2023, 7:07 PMThank you
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Posted by Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld | July 12, 2023, 7:14 AMThe sweet scent of frankincense
A candle lit, it sits at the edge of my desk
The tapping sound against my window
A rainbow stretches across the city sky
I’m swept away in a trance
My breathing slow yet steady
Carrying with every out breath, the worries of my to-do’s for today
The drops slap the hot pavement
In places where the sun once sat
I Am Still
My chest lifts itself up and then falls down again
The calming meditation of a rainy day.
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Posted by Nora Yolanda | July 10, 2023, 10:42 AMLove this!
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Posted by Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld | July 10, 2023, 12:08 PMLovely! Especially the “in places where the sun once sat”. Well done!
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | July 10, 2023, 7:09 PMFallen
Steep summits have
a come-hithersy vibe
Do they not?
like a forbidden allure
slippery slopes to climb
and after the risque rendezvous
their coquettish charm gone
caught between the treads of boots
and a desire for a higher ground
Trails etched out become rivulets
running the peak down
washing away the glory
the elusive mud once untouched
now piteous pools of mud
a snagging and dragging pain
wearing out the will of those
who wish the illicit union again…
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Posted by utopicdystopian | July 10, 2023, 11:49 AM“a come-hithersy vibe” is so cool!! Nicely done.
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Posted by Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld | July 10, 2023, 12:09 PMThank you so much!
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Posted by utopicdystopian | July 10, 2023, 8:25 PMGreat work with the metaphor! Love the “risque rendezvous” and “coquettish charm”!
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | July 10, 2023, 7:11 PMThank you!
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Posted by utopicdystopian | July 10, 2023, 8:19 PMWhat He Gets
He gives her flowers.
She is a geyser,
shucking his skin.
He gives her chocolates.
She is a flashflood of tears,
a whirlpool that drowns him.
He would say goodbye,
but he is already gone.
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Posted by nolchafox | July 10, 2023, 12:46 PMLove the “shucking his skin” and the water images. Great work!
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | July 10, 2023, 7:13 PMThank you!
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Posted by nolchafox | July 10, 2023, 7:48 PMWowzers! You had me at geyzers!
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Posted by Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld | July 12, 2023, 7:17 AMSometimes we just erupt…..Thanks, Lisa!
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Posted by nolchafox | July 12, 2023, 10:23 AMLikeLiked by 1 person
Posted by Bartholomew Barker | July 10, 2023, 9:03 PM