Yesterday I hosted a germination workshop for Living Poetry. We had six poets working with eight prompts over two hours. One of the prompts was to write about duty.
Duty
Even when the words won’t run
some days they barely crawl
the poet’s duty is to write
Drunk or sober
amused or apathetic
it’s our obligation
to drag a metaphor
out of the ordinary
to reveal meaning
found hidden under
the tiniest pebble
of inspiration
(I also used this for today’s Monday Poetry Prompt.)
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 
Well done and thanks again for a great workshop.
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Thanks for participating!
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I love this one! Yes, I work in obscurity, un-paid and un-sung, but damn it, someone has to write the verse!
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Thanks! The show must go on.
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And some days that is a very difficult duty. Well said, or rather typed.
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Thank you. I wasn’t feeling very inspired that afternoon but when you have to write….
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It has taken me a very long time to realize a writer writes, regardless of inspiration. And you’re welcome.
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Poetry on demand has been great exercise for me.
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Nice work! 👍
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Thanks! I suppose sometimes a lack of inspiration is a kind of inspiration after all.
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I agree. It’s also a writer’s discipline.
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