Collaborating
In the lovely light
of a candle twice burning,
we read each other poetry
and write new verses
with our fingers and lips
upon bare vellum.
Your red hair mirrors the dawn,
as you pin it up before leaving.
After a night of inspiration,
will you forget me presently?
Will I retreat into solitude?
You broke my heart, my dear,
when yours began beating,
too soon by a hundred years.
for Vincent
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 
This is exquisite!
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Thanks. Glad you liked it.
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excellent ❤
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Thanks for the review in our workshop last week.
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You’re welcome. That river flows both ways!
I’m so glad you included links here. I’m not that familiar with this poet, and really like the poem you used as inspiration. I must read more of her work.
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She’s definitely worth reading. I figured that the blog was also the best way to read the poem so I could link out and thus everyone would get my obscure references.
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Beautiful!
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Thanks!
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