by Atticus
each day is the same
you do what brings you peace—
and the wildest part of it all
is the island is real
my toes are in its sand.
I woke up
from the daydream
of my twenties
in a cold sweat,
anxious for
all the lives
I hadn’t lived.
We leave behind our unicorns—
the ones that get away—
but they’re never fully gone,
they will always be there,
roaming
in the grassy fields of our soul.
In life
I plan to keep going,
till everyone’s left,
the band has gone home,
the cleaners have cleaned,
and it’s just me and an old friend
daring each other to steal things.
OUR
SONGS
LIVE
LONGER
THAN
OUR
KINGDOMS.
I hope to arrive at my death
late,
in love,
and a little drunk.
What of the firefly,
the one I love to chase?
The old man smiled
Love her
he said
but leave her wild,
and the old oak tree I love to climb?
Love her, he said, but leave her wild
the bird that sings that song I love?
Love her, he said, but leave her wild
and the wolf that cries to the old joke moon?
Love her, he said, but leave her wild
and the horse that loves to run with storms?
Love her, he said, but leave her wild.
And what of her,
the one I love most?
And the old man smiled.
Yes, he said,
you must love her too
but love her wild
and she’ll love you.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to:
Penni Thow
Sarah Cantin
Andrea Barzvi
Dave Lingwood
Karlie Kloss
Shay Mitchel
Kaitlyn Bristowe
Spencer Roehre
Joey Parris
Andrew Lutfala
Monarch Publishing
Lindsay O’Connell
Callum Gunn
Ben Nemtin
Jonathan Penn
Jessica Severn
Marissa Daues
Bryan Adam Castillo
The city of Paris
The city of Oxford
Mom, dad, brothers, and sisters.
Everyone at Atria Books and Simon & Schuster:
Emma Van Deun
Albert Tang
Amy Trombat
Lisa Sciambra
Jackie Jou
Suzanne Donahue
Lisa Keim
Judith Curr
I owe a large debt to many writers who have come before me. In particular, the poem on page 53 was inspired by a favorite Hunter S. Thompson quote: “One of God’s own prototypes. . . . Too weird to live, and too rare to die.” I’ve always loved the idea of being “too rare to die”—it’s a theme that reappears often in my work—and in this poem, I tried to reimagine Thompson’s original meaning.
csterpuayotti.mco/rctssee
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ATTICUS is a storyteller and observer. Born on the West Coast, he’s spent much of his life exploring the world but now calls California his home. He loves the ocean, the desert, and playing with words. Visit him on Instagram @atticuspoetry.
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Photographs by Bryan Adam Castillo Photography, Callum Gunn, Poppet Penn, or released under Creative Commons Zero license.
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Interior design by Amy Trombat
Cover photograph by Bryan Castillo
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
ISBN 978-1-5011-7668-5
ISBN 978-1-5011-7125-3 (ebook)