Last Astronaut

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Last Astronaut

Past midnight
on the great plains
desolate street light
hangs over a gas station

The faded sign creaks
in the wind
peeling paint
corroded pump
stark fluorescence
casting shadows
on hard packed dirt

I am a fallen astronaut
surveying this relic
the last outpost
on the edge of suicide

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. 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.
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9 Responses to Last Astronaut

  1. Lisa Tomey says:

    Wow! This takes my mind in more than one place.

    Liked by 2 people

  2. othermary says:

    That’s a great closing stanza.

    Liked by 2 people

  3. This is intense! Nice poem

    Liked by 1 person

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