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Nolan Dannels

Bones

found my way out
set aside my knuckle bones
laughed until my ribs cracked
& watched an undead sunset
grinning ear to ear
knowing it will return

found my way back in
held my ankles back
'cause i didn't want to trip
head over heels in love
with a moonstruck mirage
too cold to care

lost the will to stay still
felt detached from my knees down
cried until my shoulders came off
& watched an untied sunrise
that cackled back at me
knowing i would hear it

lost the will to move
slept for years inside a heavy skull
'cause dreams are such a soft respite
from the life i've been given
& death's just another lost bone
another joint gone

as the body breaks down

found the skeleton i used to have
in a past life
watched it dance with the joy
that i must have felt back then somehow
& smiled with a tear or two
knowing these bones used to move
​
found a reason to care
lost control of logic
& watched an unwed sundeath
crawling towards a pile of my bones
knowing they won't be enough
for me to dance again

Biography

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Nolan Dannels (he/him) is a Persian American poet and lyricist who graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a Master's in English Language and Literature, and he is currently a Literature PhD student, specializing in contemporary Anglophone poetry at the University of California, San Diego, in addition to serving as the Editor in Chief of Alchemy, Journal of Translation for its Summer 2020 issue. For the amusement of both himself and his friends, he often writes absurdist parodies of classic children's short stories and fairy tales, which he refers to as "Nolar Bear Tales" because they feature a talking polar bear who serves as a comical version of his own persona. Aside from translations of French poetry published elsewhere, this poem is his first publication in any journal.
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ISSN 2639-426X
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    • Issue 31
    • Issue 30
    • Issue 29
    • Issue 28
    • Issue 27
    • Issue 26
    • Issue 25
    • Issue 24
    • Issue 23
    • Issue 22
    • Issue 21
    • Issue 20
    • Issue 19
    • Issue 18
    • Serenity
    • Issue 17
    • The Audio Room
    • Issue 16
    • Issue 15
    • Issue 14
    • Play It Again
    • Issue 13
    • Issue 12
    • Issue 11
    • Issue 10
    • Issue 9
    • Issue 8
    • Issue 7
    • Issue 6
    • Hand to Mouth
    • Issue 5
    • Issue 4
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    • Issue 1
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