dre levant
icarus rising
i keep looking for sunflowers
(sometimes they float on the lake
like tiny, singed suns fallen) [icarus is falling]
i keep collecting sunflowers
the petals crinkle in my pockets
[always falling] The Fool: on the edge of the precipice
never falters, he leaps – into The Sun –
[icarus is falling, but when does he land?or does he only float
on the lake, his face cradled by waterlogged flowers, dragging him down,,
/// i think he’s still falling, still reaching one crystallized hand toward the sun
(it doesn’t hurt) (all his shadows crystallizing) a marble statue, made of fractured sun shadows,
(decapitated sunflowers rain down), i see him on the precipice
the furthest edge of the sky
peach moon
i kept a pack of cigarettes in the top drawer and
slept with the light on for a year
for a year for four years we were all [ ] ourselves in the summer dusk
do you remember the balcony? The black bars carved into the carnelian sky
i remember how the balcony looked the taste of dust and old cigarettes the dust of your memory
i kept sweeping off the ledge the year i took to heal (it takes more than a year to heal) cigarettes
don’t remind me of you, either of you, anymore (usually) usually i don’t write poems about you
(i do all the time) (it gets easier) (does it?) (i believe it does, it does) the summer dusk doesn’t choke
me, it holds me, now, it holds me in shades of orange and gray and the thick smell of grass and
petals pressed like a shirt pressed like a kiss on my cheek gentle now ease me into the night please
the taste of tea left to sit the sound of a pen scratching (it’s quiet) (oh my god it’s so quiet)
and the dusk is too short to write it all the dusk is just enough to throw away the cigarettes
and turn off the light
dre levant has a fierce love for writing, their cat sochi, and veggie subway sandwiches. self-described as a “demon cat boy,” dre loves to wear funky makeup and write weird poetry. their poetry has been published in fifth wheel press, tiny spoon lit mag, dreamers creative writing, mistake house, and prometheus dreaming. they also edit poetry for the cloudscent journal. follow them for cat pics and snippets of poetry at @drethepiper on instagram and twitter.
These poems appear in icarus rising, available through kith books