Had a fun time at Unamplified Voices last night. Since it was a relatively small crowd of poets, I read some of my “harder” poems from Wednesday Night Regular, including the one below. It was inspired by Charli, with whom I am sadly no longer in contact. If you’re reading this, dear, I owe you a book.
Prayers to my Goddess
Like poems tattooed
Covering her parchment
Until she resembles
My feminine ideal
Sacrifice to my ego
Not the mere woman
She is
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.
Bartholomew Barker, Poet 