Fraiku: Traveling through the Dark

Posted on 2023/02/17 by Bartholomew Barker

I wonder what it’d be like to live
where no blinking red lights marred
the heroic night sky that never cared less

(for William Stafford from whom I stole the title and the heroic sky that never cared less.)

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How could I love thee?

Posted on 2023/02/14 by Bartholomew Barker

How could I love thee?

When you’d smack your lips
as you ate apple pie
When you’d snore through the night
’til the sun rose in the sky
When you’d drum your fingers
or bite your nails
When you’d order extra onions
or drive past yard sales

But I knew I loved you
because you’d smile at my bad jokes
apologize with flowers
and hold me under the umbrella
during April showers

And as our sundial decays to rust
our garden blooms with well earned trust

(Another Valentine’s Day poem, this one written with my friends at Charles House.)

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A Marriage

Posted on 2023/02/13 by Bartholomew Barker

Over the wires your voice
came leaping into my ear
like a sparkling rainbow

Me in my hotel room
you on the front porch
enjoying the evening breeze

We talk as though we’re holding hands
after a long day— sharing our warmth
despite the miles traveled

Sleep well
I’ll be home tomorrow
to continue our adventure

(A collaboration with some new friends at Waltonwood Lake Boone whom I shared love poetry with this weekend. This poem also qualifies for this week’s Living Poetry Prompt.)

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Fraiku: Philosophy

Posted on 2023/02/10 by Bartholomew Barker

Descartes understood
words pour from a bottle
I drink therefore I am

Last line stolen from Bruce’s Philosphers Song.

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“Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.”

Posted on 2023/02/06 by Bartholomew Barker

“Forgiveness is not an occasional act,
it is a constant attitude.”
~ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Our circle of friends
must be ever expanding
like a bouquet of balloons
a kaleidoscope of visions
views and voices tied
together with appreciation
acceptance and the common goal
of peace

So that we all rise together

My friends at Charles House and I wrote this poem after we read some peace poetry, like At the Un-National Monument along the Canadian Border by William Stafford and Outwitted by Edwin Markham.

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Fraiku: Erethizon dorsatum

Posted on 2023/02/03 by Bartholomew Barker

Thoughts of you—
like a prickle of porcupines
occupying my mind

(for the LP Prompt Porcupine and thanks to JeanMarie for the collective noun.)

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Hidden in Childhood

Posted on 2023/01/30 by Bartholomew Barker

As many of my dear readers know because they’re published in it too, the anthology Hidden in Childhood from Literary Revelations has been released. Compiled by the indefatigable Gabriela Marie Milton, this anthology has 280 poems from over 150 poets, including two of mine, Breaking News and Sixth Grade, a tribute to one of my elementary school teachers, Mr. Keltner.

It’s been #1 on the new poetry anthologies list for a couple of days now and at the time of this writing it’s both #1 and #2! (Paperback and Kindle versions, respectively.) At $19.99 for the paperback, that’s just seven cents per poem. You can’t afford not to buy!

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Fraiku: 90 seconds to Midnight

Posted on 2023/01/27 by Bartholomew Barker
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

We dodged the nuclear bullet
only to devise a slow extinction by climate
then got bored when that took too long

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Fear Itself

Posted on 2023/01/24 by Bartholomew Barker

That big angry dog
at the end of my paper route
half German Shepherd
half fear itself

The one who barks and snaps
at my tires as I pedal away
fast as my twelve-year-old
legs can pump

Some days he’s just inside
menacing from behind the door
but some days he’s loose
in the yard lying in wait

I worry the whole route
stomach churning worry
stink worry sweating
worrying worrying worry

Once I even threw up
as I turned down his block
puce anxiety and dread
in a puddle on asphalt

And when I got his house
he wasn’t even there

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Happy New Year!

Posted on 2023/01/21 by Bartholomew Barker

I’m proud to announce that my poem I Think Too Much is featured at Ephemeral Elegies. Hop on over and check it out.

Thank you, Tiffany Renee Harmon, for posting my work.

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