Author Archives: Bartholomew Barker

About Bartholomew Barker

Bartholomew Barker is one of the organizers of Living Poetry, a collection of poets and poetry lovers in the Triangle region of North Carolina. Born and raised in Ohio, studied in Chicago, he worked in Connecticut for nearly twenty years before moving to Hillsborough where he makes money as a computer programmer to fund his poetry habit.

They

Posted on 2021/10/18 by Bartholomew Barker

They were Strange Men They entered our villageno explanation offeredbegan killing They believed their officerswe were sub-humannot worthy of remark They were from some legionleft no oneto carry the dead (For this week’s Weekend Writing Prompt and Living Poetry Prompt.)

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Fraiku: Regrets

Posted on 2021/10/15 by Bartholomew Barker

Full of shoulds and couldsAn effigy of myselfShall we burn me down?

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Lake House

Posted on 2021/10/11 by Bartholomew Barker

Lake House She rests in forestvivid green from rainliving breath of earthcool summer morn Mirrored in the lakemist spinning ghostsdawn spilling overguardian mountains She welcomes me backslipping her doorswith comfortable warmthsurrounding my frailty No longer exposedfinally at home

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Fraiku: Nightowl

Posted on 2021/10/08 by Bartholomew Barker

Crickets serenadeMy solo lucubrationDawn arrives too soon

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See You Next Year

Posted on 2021/10/04 by Bartholomew Barker

See You Next Year Doc says I should eat better,exercise more. I know.I know. He asks if I rememberwhat we talked aboutlast time. I scour my crusted memorybut these wellness visits blurtogether like a field of pinwheelsin a lightning storm. … Continue reading →

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Fraiku: Jazz

Posted on 2021/10/01 by Bartholomew Barker

My parents are jazz musiciansYears ago they improvised a duetI am the echo of that song

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Seat 14B

Posted on 2021/09/28 by Bartholomew Barker

Seat 14B She’s didn’t want to talkas the airplane turnedfrom taxi to runway. This woman, braveas any I knew, wantedme to shut the hell up. All my memorized statisticsmy calculated probabilitiescould not abate her fear that this thin aluminum tubewith … Continue reading →

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Fraiku: Equinox

Posted on 2021/09/24 by Bartholomew Barker

Sun skims horizon one last dayin the Arctic— a failed experimentto untilt the planet   (For this week’s Living Poetry Prompt, though I only used two of the three words supplied and, of course, Wednesday’s Equinox. Happy Autumn to my … Continue reading →

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Magnificent Desolation

Posted on 2021/09/20 by Bartholomew Barker

Magnificent Desolation The second man on the Moon called it “magnificentdesolation” when he first stood upon her powdery surface.I wasn’t even born then but in my spacesuit,patching solar panels, I find no better words. We’re the invading aliens in our … Continue reading →

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Fraiku: On a hike

Posted on 2021/09/17 by Bartholomew Barker

Dark woods under heavy clouds thunderous applause from exhausted leaves drought cracks like lightning

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