One Poem by Bartholomew Barker

 

Mathias

She knows how it feels to fly
wind tearing her eyes and ears
smell of the earth from his coat
as her friend Mathias gallops

Thin legs grip his barrel
filling like a bellows
as loyal equine lungs
unbridle the air

She's holding tight
to her one reason to stay
because if fingers slip
from his bristled mane

She would be thrown
from the world

Bartholomew Barker is one of the organizers of Living Poetry, a collection of poets and poetry lovers in the Triangle region of North Carolina. 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 makes money as a computer programmer to fund his poetry habit. www.bartbarkerpoet.com