Trained as a musician and composer, Barter's poems are driven by the rhythm and lyricism, punctuated with occasional dissonances that startle the reader with profound perceptions hidden within deceptively straightforward "melodies." Whether exploring the misadventures of youth or the petty defeats of encroaching middle age, Barter evokes the bittersweet feeling of being "sad in the deep-sweet way/that gods are sad for all that will/never be."