Spent all morning washing the clothes,
birds on the wing in the bright blue,
I smiled back at the sun in his sky.
But as soon as I hang the wash on the line
the gulls and clouds fly in from the shore.
Seems like whenever I get close to being done
the rain revises.
(A little ars poetica for this week’s Living Poetry Prompt. The painting is “Woman at a Clothesline in the Dunes” by Anton Mauve.)
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 
I LOVE this!!!
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So glad. Thank you, Rene!
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You’re most welcome!
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‘the rain revises’ – beautiful line, and it could be the title of anything that takes place in Scotland! The rain revises… Love it!
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Danke, Britta! I miss the rains of Scotland. It’s been weeks since it last rained here.
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Great poem – I love the twist in “the rain revises.” – playful, suggesting rain doesn’t just revisit, it rewrites the entire situation🙌
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Thanks, Ange! Guess it’s a long way of writing “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft agley”.
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🙌
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Lovely twist back to reality! Love this.
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Thanks, Violet! Reality always seems to twist back.
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Yes! :)
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Glad you liked it, Morgaine!
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