Anthony Thomas Lombardi
the profits of gravity
She don't believe in ghosts til I get ghost.
Lil Wayne
the french don’t say i miss you.
they say tu me manques—
you are missing from me.
isn’t that lovely?
i’ve severed
enough flesh
i can’t recognize
my reflection in storefronts—
my gasp is a shrillness
that t-pain would jump to correct.
remind me again
where the line breaks
in a sunset.
remind me again
why empires fall.
this love is so lyrical i want to break it.
two waxwings
in washington square
mingle
feed each other fresh berries
then fly off like applause.
i often wonder
if they’re named after icarus
& what remains
of my merciful side slips out.
please stay close.
there’s so much out there
that profits off gravity.
so many dogwoods in bloom
so many pomegranates to peel.
Anthony Thomas Lombardi is a poet, organizer, and educator. He was named a finalist in Autumn House Press's 2020 Chapbook Contest and in the 9th Annual Gigantic Sequins Poetry Contest, and was longlisted for the 2020 Palette Poetry Emerging Poet Prize. A Tin House Writers Workshop alumnus, he is also the recipient of a fellowship from Brooklyn Poets and a scholarship from the Shipman Agency. He has previously served as Assistant Director for Polyphony Lit's Summer Scholars Program, and currently runs Word is Bond, a monthly reading series that benefits bail funds across the country, in conjunction with the Adroit Journal, where he also serves as a poetry reader and contributor. His work has appeared or will soon in Gulf Coast, North American Review, Colorado Review, Passages North, Poetry Northwest, Salt Hill Journal, Iron Horse Literary Review, Cherry Tree, and elsewhere. He lives in Brooklyn, NY with his cat, Dilla.
Return to January 2021 Edition
She don't believe in ghosts til I get ghost.
Lil Wayne
the french don’t say i miss you.
they say tu me manques—
you are missing from me.
isn’t that lovely?
i’ve severed
enough flesh
i can’t recognize
my reflection in storefronts—
my gasp is a shrillness
that t-pain would jump to correct.
remind me again
where the line breaks
in a sunset.
remind me again
why empires fall.
this love is so lyrical i want to break it.
two waxwings
in washington square
mingle
feed each other fresh berries
then fly off like applause.
i often wonder
if they’re named after icarus
& what remains
of my merciful side slips out.
please stay close.
there’s so much out there
that profits off gravity.
so many dogwoods in bloom
so many pomegranates to peel.
Anthony Thomas Lombardi is a poet, organizer, and educator. He was named a finalist in Autumn House Press's 2020 Chapbook Contest and in the 9th Annual Gigantic Sequins Poetry Contest, and was longlisted for the 2020 Palette Poetry Emerging Poet Prize. A Tin House Writers Workshop alumnus, he is also the recipient of a fellowship from Brooklyn Poets and a scholarship from the Shipman Agency. He has previously served as Assistant Director for Polyphony Lit's Summer Scholars Program, and currently runs Word is Bond, a monthly reading series that benefits bail funds across the country, in conjunction with the Adroit Journal, where he also serves as a poetry reader and contributor. His work has appeared or will soon in Gulf Coast, North American Review, Colorado Review, Passages North, Poetry Northwest, Salt Hill Journal, Iron Horse Literary Review, Cherry Tree, and elsewhere. He lives in Brooklyn, NY with his cat, Dilla.
Return to January 2021 Edition