The fireflies are hiding
as the storm raves in.
Momma gathers us into the house
like church mice and hushes us down
so God can do His work.
No TV. No Radio. No chattering
while the rain pelts loud
on the old tin roof.
And I peep through drawn shades
to glimpse the lightning.
(A collaboration with my new friends at Mebane Ridge.)
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 
Good one.
It reminded me of being in church for a midnight Christmas Carol service when the lights and indeed the organ were knocked out by lightning. What a display from the Choir gallery through the stained glass window. Unforgettable, sixty years on.
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That must’ve been wondrous! Growing up in the Northern Hemisphere, a thunderstorm on Christmas Eve is unthinkable. Blizzards a plenty but no thunderstorms.
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I love summer thunder as long as there are no tornadoes!
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Used to be tornadoes were only in the spring. Alas, we’re living in a new climate now.
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Ah … the wonder of nature’s storms, Bart (inside looking was sensible idea)
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Much more wonderful when I can both observe and stay dry.
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Indeed so …
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Reminds me of my grandmother. If we were over there when it was thundering she wouldn’t let us have the TV on.
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Yeah, that was one of the memories a lot of us had and it’s not entirely unreasonable.
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Nothing like a good summer thunderstorm. You capture it well.
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Vivid imagery and so nostalgic, Bart! Loved it. :)
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Thanks, Susi!
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You’re welcome!
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I know the feeling
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Glad this one resonated with you.
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