Nearly a year ago, Spank the Carp held an ekphrastic contest where we were given an image to inspire our poetry. I thought I’d give it a try and while I didn’t win, the editor asked if he could publish the poem in some future edition and that time has come. Pond 64, the August 2021 issue of Spank the Carp is now online, featuring my poem, Koi in a Bucket. Check it out!
You might also notice a “Vote for your favorite work” button. Be an informed citizen and research the other works before deciding which is your favorite.
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 
Oooh, congratulations!
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Thank you! You should submit some of your work there.
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Congratulations. Although, I’m not sure of the ethics of spanking fish. I mean, what did they ever do to you? :)
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Don’t get me started on those snooty fish in the rivers, extracting oxygen directly from water while I’m sitting here breathing air like a sucker.
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LOL
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Congrats!
Can we pretend that they’re singing?
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Of course! That would’ve been a good line. Wish I’d have thought of it.
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I love this poem!
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So glad. Thanks!
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Lovely poem., Bartholomew. :) Congratulations!
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Thank you very much.
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