Men at Work
Watching men work
their way down the bar,
talking to women,
unintroduced.
The ladies play
with these Lotharios
like cats with mice.
I envy the prey.
I am alien here.
A poet lost
in a strange land,
observing the natives.
My best pickup line
might be: Does a rose
by any other name
smell as sweet?
To find intelligent intercourse,
to probe without protection,
Do you come here often,
is safer than sex.
I don’t belong here,
a little green poet
among men.
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 
“Like cats with mice. I envy the prey” my favorite line because it cuts so deep!
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Thank you very much. I’m rather proud of that line too.
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