With Each Passing Year

Posted on 2022/09/27 by Bartholomew Barker

With Each Passing Year

Food loses its flavor.
The sun gets dimmer,
the atmosphere thinner.
I can’t catch my breath.

The Earth’s molten core
is spinning slower like a top
wobbling— I feel gravity tilt
beneath my feet as I walk.

Years fly by faster
than months once did—
something Einstein predicted
but I don’t understand.

The world, once smooth
and vibrant, is shriveling
like a grape turning
into a raisin.

I’m no scientist
but life on this planet
can’t be viable
for very much longer.

(Another two-prompt Tuesday: this poem inspired by the LP Monday Poetry Prompt and Sammi’s Weekend Writing Prompt.)

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Free Verse Revolution: Tahmina

Posted on 2022/09/24 by Bartholomew Barker

I am very proud to announce that one of my poems, Another Birth, has been published in the current issue of Free Verse Revolution: Tahmina: (love & loss). You can download the PDF for free but, once you see it, I’m sure you’ll want physical copy for your bookshelves. It’s gorgeous!

I dedicated Another Birth to Phillis Wheatley. She was the first African-American woman to publish a book of poetry. I wish I could claim that I was thinking of her while writing the poem but I didn’t know about her yet. I was thinking about how dangerous pregnancy is for our mothers and while looking up famous people who died in childbirth, her name appeared.

Thank you to Kristiana Reed for publishing my work and my raven-haired muse for the inspiration.

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , , | 17 Comments

Fraiku: Freedom

Posted on 2022/09/23 by Bartholomew Barker

Why are those who cry
Freedom loudest, waving the flag,
the first to ban books?

for Banned Books Week

Posted in Ephemera | 17 Comments

Confirmation Bias

Posted on 2022/09/20 by Bartholomew Barker

Confirmation Bias
or We All Go To Heaven

The council of my inner voice
votes and the tally shows
I’m still mostly a good guy.

I rarely renege on promises,
shoplift from the liquor store
or cheat on my girlfriends.

But they’ve spent years crafting
this self-image and tend to ignore
marks left in the jerk column.

(Written for this week’s Living Poetry Prompt and Sammi’s Weekend Writing Prompt.)

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Fraiku: Insanity

Posted on 2022/09/16 by Bartholomew Barker

Re-electing incumbents
and expecting laws
to change

We’re entering election season here in the U. S. A.

If you want to vote the bums out, you’ve got to be registered.
If you think you’re registered, they might have purged you.
Double-check at Voter Registration Status.

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , , | 25 Comments

Eye of the Beholder

Posted on 2022/09/13 by Bartholomew Barker

Eye of the Beholder

Metal tongs pull a slice of prime rib
onto my plate at the buffet.
I notice a brunette at another table
and avoid staring at her legs.

Turkey buzzards cluster around a fallen doe
like little stout Deaths in feathered robes
and sickle beaks.

The bandage around my arm itches
from where I donated blood.
Cotton stained red and now brown.

(for this week’s Living Poetry prompt and Sammi’s Weekend Writing prompt.)

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

Self Portrait at Panoply

Posted on 2022/09/10 by Bartholomew Barker

I am very proud to announce that my Self Portrait has been published at Panoply, A Literary Zine. I’ve been submitting to Panoply for years so this is especially gratifying. Big thanks to Andrea, Clara, Jeff, and Ryn there.

And further gratitude to my muse who suggested I write a poem imaging myself as a house. It’s a great prompt.

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , | 19 Comments

Fraiku: Lunacy

Posted on 2022/09/09 by Bartholomew Barker

At sunset the sky
lifts her skirt— full moon rises
tonight we howl

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

The Day After

Posted on 2022/09/05 by Bartholomew Barker

The Day After

Starlings erupt from a distant field
like an avian disease infecting the sky
after exhausting their previous host.

The flock calligraphs my child’s name,
mocking my grief and pareidolia.

(For Sammi’s Weekend Writing Prompt: Avian and a Bernie’s challenge to use the word pareidolia in a poem. Also, in the vaguest of ways, Living Poetry’s September Visual Poetry Prompt.)

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , | 23 Comments

Fraiku: Kitchen Considerations

Posted on 2022/09/02 by Bartholomew Barker

The cheese is growing
a respectable green beard.
Fridge must be broken.

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , , | 18 Comments