Poetry by Nicholas Barnes

when you stopped
               looking at ladybugs

like they were miracles

               like they shouldn’t be there

but they somehow were,

and you started looking
               at them like …

i’ve seen
               a million of you before,

that’s the day you died.

that’s the day you stopped
               loving yourself.


Nicholas Barnes earned a Bachelor of Arts in English at Southern Oregon University. He currently works as an editor in Portland, and enjoys music, museums, movie theaters, and rain. His poems have been accepted by Mortal Mag, Barzakh, and Something Involving A Mailbox!, among others.