Untitled Poem from the Manuscript "State of the Wards"
Rent from DeepDyve- Untitled Poem from the Manuscript "State of the Wards"
The tongs of domesticity quiesce as the room approaches dew point. Just because something's an instance of what it purports to describe doesn't mean shit. All words are the word word. Behold the suicide discouragement placard in the subway station. The one on the bridge. The one in the library. The one on the back of the dollar bill. The early reflections of a sound, before the onset of perceived reverberation, produce a smearing effect. That's the idea I've been waiting for. I'm taking it with me. First the image is corrupted by adding to: accretion. Then the image is corrupted by subtracting from: erasure. Longing itself has become what is longed for. Sorry for the formality of this letter. Sorry I couldn't wait for you to get back before leaving for the airport. I'm just writing to tell you what you already know. [End Page 1]
Levi Andalou's work has appeared or is forthcoming in Lake Effect, Spillway, Mid-American Review, South Carolina Review, BOMB, Virga Magazine, Sugar House Review, DIAGRAM, F(r)iction, Cleaver Magazine, Sonora Review, Phoebe, Ruminate, Pembroke Magazine, and Tampa Review. He was a finalist for both the 2018 Greg Grummer Poetry Award and the 2018 Puerto Del Sol Poetry Contest and was a semi- finalist for the 2018 Boulevard Emerging Poets Contest. A reading of his work was featured on the literary podcast "On the Edge." He graduated from Brown University, where he studied with C. D. Wright, Michael S. Harper, and Ange Mlinko. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can read more of his work or contact him at LeviAndalou.com.
