TWO POEMS BY ITALO FERRANTE
sleep monologue where zeus is you
if you shove a snugnose in the mailbox
you’ll find galvanic skin at the base of my spine
early morning goodbyes vibrate at low speed
through punchproof glass i let open questions
tazer me like a bio bracelet yes you can wear
my heartbeat i’ll rent a storage unit & fill it
with absolutely nothing you said i could crash
at your place as long as i’d mute my breath why
do all windows lead to you reason one: your name
a backspace reason two: my left eye the lazy one
detects you like a crane swinging out of control
reason three: i never see you as the end
heavier than heaven
i dream of a body at rest forever
it’s mine i recognise its angular mass
of lumps & knots how it collapses
inwards when i don’t pipe-feed it
i catch my spine losing another tussle
with gravity i suck in my stomach
as far as i can my calorie countdown
reminds me that i’m one fast away
from mathematical beauty the police tape
across the refrigerator keeps sugar out
of my addition tables white light
is the sum of all colours except me
i curse the star which was kind enough
to burst & breed me let me spew my guts
into space until i become weightless
Italo Ferrante (he/him) earned a BA in English Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Warwick. He is currently undertaking an MA in Creative Writing at Lancaster University. To date, his work has been selected for publication by Train River, Nymphs & Thugs, Dreich, Queer Zine, Flash Journal, Reinvention, Poetry Salzburg, Impossible Archetype, Cardiff Review, Sage Cigarettes, Inflections Magazine, Lighthouse, and Orchard Lea Press.
