This week let’s write a poem with the words Arctic, slow and wolf 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, 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 
Sleek and slow
crouched so low
touching Arctic snow.
My heart quickens
and ebbs but
I must be still.
There’s a right moment
to kill
and my heart explodes.
I am the air
lunging at prey
baby Caribou.
Saliva pelts out
as teeth pierce deep
ripping away at a
throbbing throat.
The wolf that I am
grins, exposing
stringy flesh between
sharp teeth.
What a sight
I must be
blood stained fur
and paws and snow.
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Posted by DanielleM | May 19, 2025, 11:38 AMPowerful (and bloody), Danielle!
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Posted by crazy4yarn2 | May 19, 2025, 4:42 PMLol.Thanks!
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Posted by DanielleM | May 19, 2025, 6:13 PMLove it! A great example of nature’s red in tooth and claw. Great work, Danielle!
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | May 19, 2025, 6:55 PMLook Out
Love is a lone wolf padding
softly, slowly through Arctic snow.
When you think it’s safe,
she leaps and rips your
heart out with her teeth.
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Posted by crazy4yarn2 | May 19, 2025, 4:41 PMExcellent metaphor, Nolcha!
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | May 19, 2025, 6:57 PMHere’s mine
https://bartbarkerpoet.com/2025/05/19/fenrir-is-coming/
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | May 20, 2025, 9:13 PMLikeLiked by 2 people
Posted by Gypsie-Ami Offenbacher-Ferris | May 20, 2025, 11:01 PMGreat imagery. Thanks for sharing, Gypsie!
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Posted by Bartholomew Barker | May 21, 2025, 5:52 PMYou are most welcome my friend! 🙏
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Posted by Gypsie-Ami Offenbacher-Ferris | May 21, 2025, 6:46 PM