Sex in the Sea

Posted on 2020/02/14 by Bartholomew Barker

(Last night Living Poetry attended the Science Cafe at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. The program was called Sex and the Sea: Love Stories, for Valentine’s Day, of course. Watch the show! The poetry starts at around 46 minutes but watch the whole thing to get the marine references.)

Sex in the Sea

Take me to the aquarium.
I love the dim lighting
and subdued sounds.
If they sold wine
in the gift shop,
it’d be better
than a singles bar.

We all know sex in a bathtub
just doesn’t work.
I need somewhere more pelagic
and the oceans are filled
with gametes searching
for a home.

Imagine if we’d made a strange
natural selection in eons past—
I’d carry your eggs
in mouth or belly
or cling to your side
until I slowly dissolve
in your love.

About Bartholomew Barker

Bartholomew Barker is one of the organizers of Living Poetry, a collection of poets and poetry lovers in the Triangle region of North Carolina. Born and raised in Ohio, studied in Chicago, he worked in Connecticut for nearly twenty years before moving to Hillsborough where he makes money as a computer programmer to fund his poetry habit.

View all posts by Bartholomew Barker →

This entry was posted in Poetry and tagged museum of natural sciences, Science Cafe, sex. Bookmark the permalink.

15 Responses to Sex in the Sea

mbrazfieldm says:

2020/02/14 at 17:40

Saucy love it! It’s also very sweet 💕

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- Bartholomew Barker says:
  
  2020/02/14 at 17:44
  
  Ha! Saucy. Good one.
  
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Lisa Tomey says:

2020/02/14 at 19:40

This got my gills a stirring. Love it and thinking it needs a home.

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- Bartholomew Barker says:
  
  2020/02/14 at 19:55
  
  Thanks. It needs some work before it’d be ready for submission but it might be worth it.
  
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  - Lisa Tomey says:
    
    2020/02/14 at 21:10
    
    I believe it is more than worth it.
    
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JeanMarie says:

2020/02/15 at 00:10

Oh that crazy natural selection! Nice. Workshop? :)

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- Bartholomew Barker says:
  
  2020/02/15 at 00:16
  
  Maybe later. I’ve got some other new ones that I’d rather work on first.
  
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jupitergrant says:

2020/02/15 at 06:26

Awwww, this is sexy and sweet ☺️❤️

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- Bartholomew Barker says:
  
  2020/02/15 at 10:28
  
  Thanks.
  
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Ami (Gypsie) Offenbacher-Ferris says:

2022/02/02 at 07:23

Exquisite imagery! Absolutely love spending quiet hours at the beach and aquarium. 😊

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- Bartholomew Barker says:
  
  2022/02/02 at 17:41
  
  Thanks. I find aquariums very soothing.
  
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  - Ami (Gypsie) Offenbacher-Ferris says:
    
    2022/02/03 at 08:53
    
    I love them. Will sit for hours watching the different animals. 😊
    
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Cheryl, Gulf Coast Poet says:

2022/02/06 at 16:00

Lovely photo to accompany your touching poem, Bartholomew! We have many sea turtle nests on the beach here. I read that about 1 out of 100 hatchlings survive to adulthood. They may live more than 80 years, and return to the beach where they were hatched to lay their eggs every year or two.

I agree that sex in the sea is preferable to sex in a bathtub! <3

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- Bartholomew Barker says:
  
  2022/02/06 at 16:32
  
  Thanks. I think that Science Cafe was one of the last public events I worked before the pandemic took hold in NC.
  
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