Tom Barlow

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Armor

The beetle within his shell is

still small enough to be swallowed whole.

If I could, I would dress my daughter in enormity.

Instead, I button up her little winter coat

and hold her hand as we await the morning bus.

Tom Barlow is an American writer of five novels, a hundred plus short stories and poetry. His work has appeared in many journals including One Art, The Ekphrastic Review, Voicemail Poetry, Hobart, Tenemos, Redivider, The New York Quarterly, The Gyroscope Review, and many more. See tombarlowauthor.com.