Tricks and Treats

Posted on 2020-10-12 by Bartholomew Barker

Tricks and Treats

Don’t be frightened by the monsters
in television ads promising prosperity
and predicting pandemonium.

Don’t be frightened by the beggars
in your email, requesting treats
to prevent someone else’s tricks.

Don’t be frightened by politics,
be angry that money decides elections
instead of We the People.

Election Day is three weeks and a day away and I’m very angry. I’ve been encouraging my fellow citizens to vote and now it’s time. I plan to vote early, in person, next Monday. Have you already mailed in your ballot? What’s your plan to vote?

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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.
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10 Responses to Tricks and Treats

  1. JeanMarie's avatar JeanMarie says:
    2020-10-12 at 19:39

    I voted by mail.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. Lisa Tomey's avatar Lisa Tomey says:
    2020-10-13 at 03:50

    Yeah…watch the stock market as the climate changes even as ugly pumpkin speaks. Good poem. I’ll never look at pumpkin the same.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. Emily Cooper's avatar Emily Cooper says:
    2020-10-14 at 17:04

    We must vote for the change we wish to see! So much so that the Trumpkin cannot affect the outcome even if he tried.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. Sumyanna's avatar Sumyanna says:
    2020-10-15 at 18:12

    Amazing write and just what I’ve been feeling!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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