This week let’s write a poem with the words below, side and true in it. This is another of those prompts where I randomly choose three words from a list of the top 1000 words in the English language plus a few of my favorites. Post your poems in the comments below.
About Bartholomew Barker
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.
Living Poetry 
Taking Sides
It’s true that we must take a side,
left or right, up in the sky
or down below.
But I can choose another place,
perhaps the center of the room.
Or I can choose to hold my ground,
to claim what’s mine,
refuse to yield.
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Posted by crazy4yarn2 | January 22, 2024, 12:43 PMVery nice. I try to choose forward.
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | January 22, 2024, 7:29 PMForward is a good side to take, too!
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Posted by crazy4yarn2 | January 22, 2024, 7:37 PMBTW, loved your poem on Ephemeral Elegies today.
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | January 22, 2024, 7:42 PMThank you so much! I appreciate you reading it.
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Posted by crazy4yarn2 | January 22, 2024, 8:03 PMLikeLiked by 2 people
Posted by Jewish Young Professional "JYP" | January 22, 2024, 6:20 PMGreat work! Loved the skeleton stanza. Thanks for sharing!
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | January 22, 2024, 7:33 PMThat one was my favorite too!
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Posted by Jewish Young Professional "JYP" | January 22, 2024, 9:20 PMLikeLike
Posted by Bartholomew Barker | January 22, 2024, 8:12 PMThank you for the prompt, Bart! Here’s my response:
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Posted by butungislayp | January 22, 2024, 10:14 PMThanks for writing to the prompt! I’m impressed you got all three words in the haiku and it’s paired with a beautiful pic. Well done!
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | January 22, 2024, 10:26 PMIt took me a while to navigate the challenge, but I am happy when it finally come through. Sending you sunshine from Cebu! 💜
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Posted by butungislayp | January 22, 2024, 10:30 PMLikeLiked by 1 person
Posted by Jake Wills | January 22, 2024, 10:31 PMEpic! I especially liked the 2nd and the final stanzas. Thanks for sharing!
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | January 22, 2024, 10:47 PM