Horse And Girl
Nicole Kurlich


The wind off Lake Erie
licks my lungs
hollow, and you
split
sand and shale like iron
shields, shuddering
me.

You, a mare
of Pharaoh and I,
a freshwater
queen.

The Midwestern pulse
surges up
hot, and you
stretch
back and bone like cello
bowstrings, bending
me.

You, a goddess
of war and I,
an American
green.



 

 

 

About the author: 
Nicole Kurlich's poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Burningword Literary Journal and Decades Review. She currently lives in Northeast Ohio and is pursuing an Associates of Arts degree at Lakeland Community College. When she is not studying, she can be found in the library, at the track or on the back of a horse.