Evening Fog

Posted on 2021-04-29 by Bartholomew Barker

For today’s prompt from Robert Lee Brewer’s Write Better Poetry blog, write an evening poem. The evening can be a quiet and contemplative time, a stressed or fearful time, or, well, party time. Evenings can be lonely or romantic, cool or humid, inspirational or numbing. And today (or tonight, depending on when you consume your poetry prompts), evening is the time for poeming–even if you’re doing it in the middle of the afternoon.

Evening Fog

The fog comes on little bat wings
after the sun retreats to the west
leaving the harbor town undefended.

Gaslight soldiers on every corner
resist the darkness sweeping the city
but little orange flames are no deterrence.

I emerge into glorious night,
inspired by a moonless sky
to hunt the lost souls I find.

Streets glisten with dew or blood.
My actions surgical— my teeth insatiable—
no screams from the brokenhearted

as the forgiving dawn comes too late
for those who I glimpsed in the fog.

(First line pretty much stolen from Carl Sandburg.)

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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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11 Responses to Evening Fog

  1. harleyxreborn's avatar Harley Reborn says:
    2021-04-29 at 23:21

    Am I supposed to get Jack the Ripper vibes?

    Liked by 1 person

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  2. Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld's avatar Lisa Tomey says:
    2021-04-30 at 01:05

    Nice flow. Love it and especially the first line.

    Liked by 1 person

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  4. Carolyn Crossley VixenOfVerse's avatar Carolyn Crossley VixenOfVerse says:
    2021-04-30 at 08:37

    I loved the gaslight soldiers resisting the darkness. This sent shivers down my spine! Visceral indeed. ❤👩‍🦰❤😁

    Liked by 2 people

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