Pelé and Poets

Posted on 2020-06-30 by Bartholomew Barker

483px-Selo_Pelé_1000_gols_10_cts

The email flirts from my inbox unread.
A reply from a journal I submitted
my best to many months ago.

It bats it’s eyelashes and winks,
beckoning, begging for my attention,
“Open me. I’ll show you everything.”

But like a lottery ticket, I know the odds
are against me so I hang on the hope,
resist temptation for as long as possible.

Sipping my second glass of courage,
I succumb, double-clicking my doom,
preparing to sink deeper into my chair.

My eyes scan, not really reading until,
“We would like to publish your poem…”
and my fist clenches punching the air.

I do a touchdown dance in my bathrobe
then run around the apartment,
arms outstretched like wings,

celebrating as only
Pelé and poets do.

 

(From this week’s Living Poetry Prompt, Elated.)

 

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About Bartholomew Barker

Bartholomew Barker is an organizer of Living Poetry, a collection of poets in the Triangle region of North Carolina where he has hosted a monthly feedback workshop for more than decade. 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 lives and writes poetry.
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11 Responses to Pelé and Poets

  1. JeanMarie's avatar JeanMarie says:
    2020-06-30 at 21:18

    Huzzah! Congratulations!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld's avatar Lisa Tomey says:
    2020-07-01 at 06:42

    Congratulations!!👏🍷

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. krishansen4tango's avatar krishansen4tango says:
    2020-07-01 at 08:12

    CONGRATULATIONS!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. Cassa Bassa's avatar Cassa Bassa says:
    2020-07-01 at 09:11

    I can feel the dance! 🎉

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  5. s.s.'s avatar s.s. says:
    2020-07-03 at 01:46

    I love it!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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