THREE POEMS by TYLER ANTOINE

1

the space underneath what

some might refer to as my

acrylic nails (despite how

real they are to me) smells

like egg and cheese

I am debit carding kief across

a weed tray bearing my likeness

to greet 2 pm

my eyes feel like a Jack-o’-Lantern’s—

punched face-first circa November third

as my fingers drag down the feed

for a reason to feel hungry

there are so many people in this

world that owe me so many favors

it’s ridiculous

but no matter how many times

my misery’s phantoms

take bite at their ankles

I’m just not really convinced

that I’m being heard

at least not the way I imagined

when I was a kid

so what do I do but gaze

and see what words shout back?

and that’s what I hold

that’s what I put in my pocket and

take with me as I stroll down

seventh, a selfie stick circa 2013

featuring a travel-sized ring light

helping me make way

through the hordes of fuckboys

who walk with a clamor

who glance with a knowing

and I myself the opal

that makes their eyes shine in kind

oh what a marvelous life it is

to be the loudest ghost in the room

to make gander of the cows

grazing lazily in the field I like to call

my vision

the panopticon is my boyfriend

and we’re going steady

you have no idea how angry I can be

and how easy it is for me to get there

you have no concept of what I mean

when I say I’m going live

my favorite thing about the

word demonstrably is how it

kinda sounds like monster

and my favorite part of a

documentary is the part

concerning troubled childhood

I had a dream once:

I was a palm tree in a tropical storm

and my neck bent elegantly

it leaned just so

but I’ve always been partial to gusts of nothing

slam my coconut head against the Empire State Building

because I’m not going anywhere

I don’t even know what that word means

but I might fuck around

find out

etc.

like for part two

comment what you think

come over when I’m lonely

and lock the door behind you

watch the Comedy Central Roast

of Justin Bieber and hit

my pen until you’re scared

lean over and see my face as I say my name very slowly

and watch the light drain from the day as I pull in very closely

and say a quiet kiss goodnight

as the window finally closes


2

take your shitty ass to bed

new sad new york

mercedes-benz parts

logging off from afternoon dot com

a glass tumbler

left on the side of an empty sink

half club soda and

half new amsterdam

full blue light shining mostly everywhere

slipping in the cracks of the pillowcase

where dawn makes dreams stupid

and me, dressed to the tens

for my sleep paralysis demon

super-sume my dreams with the bedroom dresser

there’s a face in every knot of wood

faded light-up glow lamp

ancient carpet matted with dust

I’ll brush my teeth against any plaster that bites

dust on the duvet

dust in the sunset

night coming earlier

than maybe ever

night is baby

please let me hold him

let me pass him around

keep him up until morning

baby watches TV

all night long

watching ghost hunters all night long

counting down from 43 minutes

all night long

see I’ve always loved

the hum of a flat screen

and baby loves the way

light glows in the dark


3

tell me where

do you plant

your roses now?

in some days where we grew

like weeds in the wind?

I wonder if the soft

boys still illuminate the

room in the shadow of

your mother at the top

of the stairs telling you

about the yard work

about the empty days

that time steals when

we look away

take promise in what today

won’t bring, I think of

flowers in a desert storm

angry nothings coming

home from college

I hope this wish was a good trip

I think it’s all about an experience

gazing at your face

in the pale vodka moonlight

shared whatever of a

luminal nothing, what

sound does a cow make

when it falls in the forest?

does it sound like somebody

sounds when they’re

saying they’re sorry?


Tyler Antoine (he/him) lives outside Wilmington, Delaware. You can find previous example of his writing in the tiny, Bedfellows, Painted Bride Quarterly, and elsewhere. Most recently, he is featured in the film Systems Research, releasing from Consumer Grade Video this spring.

Previous
Previous

THREE THINGS by SAMMI MELANDER

Next
Next

THREE POEMS by HOWARD KAPLAN