Afterglow
There’s the devil you know, and the devil you don’t. But as David Ly reminds us in ‘Cry’, ‘bravery is where you worry it might be.’
Enjoy this stunning poem in its entirety, here from Issue 22, Spring 2019, on sale now until February 29th.
Cry
and the devil limps over to you, bows to be crowned with white orchids
blink out glimmers of doubt from your eyes before they bloom
like tiger lilies on a black lake in the crater of a planetoid
for what it’s worth, learn how to wear the glow of stars after they burn out
the trick is to know that a safe distance away from darkness won’t help you see better
instead, rip the night sky down, origami-fold it into a beetle and slip it under your tongue
a star died one billion years ago and tonight you are living in its afterglow
like how a hound leaps through flames licking at its heels
bravery is where you worry it might be
let the devil cry on you
For more from Issue 22, Spring 2019, pick up your copy, ON SALE until February 29th!
David Ly‘s poems have appeared in several anthologies and magazines including The Temz Review, Arc Poetry Magazine, Best Canadian Poetry, PRISM International, and The Ex-Puritan, among others. In 2020, CBC Books named him a writer to watch. David is the author of Stubble Burn, Mythical Man, Dream of Me as Water, and co-editor of Queer Little Nightmares: An Anthology of Monstrous Fiction and Poetry. Visit him on Instagram or at davidlywrites.ca.
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