Have you gotten your copy of Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction at Lulu in E-Book & Paperback versions, or Amazon in Paperback (only) yet?
I am on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing, as I discuss recent events related to my previous place of employment, including racism and discrimination, the growth I experienced after resigning from that company, and the foibles and overall experiences of life. I welcome your visit.
cold-turkeying a love
I’m cold-turkeying a love I should have
left when I first realized it was time
to leave before I become
cold-hearted.
As Christmas Comes To an End
I am locked into Broncos and Chiefs,
and Prime was glitching earlier, no
rhyme or reason to the delay, but I
remain tuned in; first quarter took a while
To warm up — old Buick, winter weather…
breathe, you’ll get it.
My cousin’s text message breaks my
attention, and I see the preview for a
photo and a video, and instantly, I’m
reminded of how much fun we used to
have as children — “Popcorn Loving”
our way down the block.
New Edition was a drug of choice.
7 and 9-year-olds shouldn’t know anything
about crushes, but we were latchkey kids, raising
ourselves from the hours of 3 PM to 8 PM.
We were curious, and curiosity was meant
to kill us, but it didn’t.
We survived the block.
And even though we’re so far removed
from the neighborhood that reared us through
grade school, pieces of it still breathe life
into us.
Christmas is ending, and I remember the
past while braving my present.
What does the future have for me to live
through next?
I guess… we’ll have
to see.
Have you gotten your copy of Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction at Lulu in E-Book & Paperback versions, or Amazon in Paperback (only) yet?
I am on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing, as I discuss recent events related to my previous place of employment, including racism and discrimination, the growth I experienced after resigning from that company, and the foibles and overall experiences of life. I welcome your visit.
with my salivating taste
buds patiently
waiting, I tweaked a
hot cocoa recipe
and took the first
sip that led me to a
a new lover’s arms.
I’ll be right here
tomorrow; same
time, same place,
eager to coat my
tongue with a savory
chocolate heaven.
simply divine.
A savory poem celebrates rich, complex flavors and satisfying, hearty experiences, often using food imagery to evoke deep emotion or memory, as seen in poems about home cooking, spices, family gatherings, or even love and loss, focusing on hearty tastes like bacon, curries, and herbs rather than just sweetness, finding depth in everyday meals and shared moments.
Have you gotten your copy of Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction at Lulu in E-Book & Paperback versions, or Amazon in Paperback (only) yet?
I am on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing, as I discuss recent events related to my previous place of employment, including racism and discrimination, the growth I experienced after resigning from that company, and the foibles and overall experiences of life. I welcome your visit.
You will never have to twist my arm or convince me to purchase a book of poems by Bartholomew Barker. If he’s writing them, I’m buying it. Some people master structure, line breaks, wordplay, and intensity all in one go with their poetry, and Bart is one of those people.
I assure you, reading about dinner, drinks, and dessert will never be the same. You’ll find yourself thinking you can actually undress a glass of wine, see full and supple breasts in a bunch of tomatoes, and hear heaven’s angels sing while you’re baking a fresh batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies.
It was a pleasure to read and review this chapbook, which I did on both Amazon and Goodreads.
Serve Me a Symphony of Purple in a Glass
I knew that I would not be disappointed as soon as I opened “Milkshakes and Chilidogs”, and began reading. Barker has a way of working language, playing with phrases and rhythm, so that his poetry not only sticks with you, it is pleasing to the ear when read aloud.
His line breaks are intentional and powerful. Every stanza is a welcome wave of sighs of relief for a reader and writer of poetry.
There are so many quotable phrases throughout this chapbook such as:
“I keep time with an hourglass
because I prefer the shape.”“Sunday morning pancakes
start out pale like her skin
in early spring.”“Tomatoes
Firm as your breasts
Red as your lips
On a night out
Drenched in Merlot.”And this doesn’t even begin to scrape the surface of his brilliant use of form and structure. I loved everything about this offering except for the fact that it’s not long enough.
I would have loved to see a formal book of poetry regarding dinner, drinks, and dessert, especially if they’re going to be written by Bartholomew Barker.
Currently, at just $1.99 for Kindle and $5.45 for paperback, Milkshakes & Chilidogs is far beyond affordable and worth so much more. If you’re looking for a stocking stuffer for a few of your wordsmith-like friends, this chapbook would make the perfect gift!
Have you gotten your copy of Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction at Lulu in E-Book & Paperback versions, or Amazon in Paperback (only) yet?
I am on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing, as I discuss recent events related to my previous place of employment, including racism and discrimination, the growth I experienced after resigning from that company, and the foibles and overall experiences of life. I welcome your visit.
Have you gotten your copy of Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction at Lulu in E-Book & Paperback versions, or Amazon in Paperback (only) yet?
I am on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing, as I discuss recent events related to my previous place of employment, including racism and discrimination, the growth I experienced after resigning from that company, and the foibles and overall experiences of life. I welcome your visit.
4 sections. 24 poems. 9 original photos (digitally animated by Google Gemini). 40 pages. 1 dog who is no longer with us.
The tentative publishing date is still January 12, 2026, four months after Jernee’s passing. I will know more after this minor flaw has been corrected, and I request another proof copy for review.
In Scattered Words: Poems for Jernee Timid Loadholt, the author wants you, the reader, to experience Jernee in totality, and understand why she has lost the greatest companion she has ever known.
If you have ever grieved the loss of a pet, many of these poems will not only resonate with you, they will set up holding spaces in your mind, crawl into your heart, and retreat only when they have been commanded to do so.
You will laugh, cry, nod in agreement, and reminisce about your furry family member(s) and how they have become your strength. Grief is not linear, and every creeping moment it decides to invade your heart, there is a poem in this book to greet it.
In Scattered Words…, Tremaine celebrated, lamented, grieved, loved, and released Jernee Timid Loadholt. Every day, she will probably do these things again—not necessarily in that order.
If you have never met a dog who had the uncanny ability to be more memorable than some of the people you know, with this book of poems, you will have your chance.
Scattered Words is approaching its tentative release date, and I believe it will meet the deadline I have in place for it. Because I am anal retentive, I will go through this proof copy with a fine-tooth comb, so to speak, to be sure nothing else is needed before it sees the world. I truly believe this book will be my best offering to my readers/supporters yet. However, I am insanely biased about this one.
Have you gotten your copy of Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction at Lulu in E-Book & Paperback versions, or Amazon in Paperback (only) yet?
I am on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing, as I discuss recent events related to my previous place of employment, including racism and discrimination, the growth I experienced after resigning from that company, and the foibles and overall experiences of life. I welcome your visit.
A Cornered Gurl 
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