DM Davanti explores the human condition through the cracked lens of a New York upbringing. Currently working on both a debut novel and short story collection, he is married and based in central Pennsylvania. Unsettled by the country quiet of Pennsylvania, Dezmond Davanti works through residual New York noise by penning poetry and horror tales. With short stories and poems appearing in Jazz House Publications, Steering 22, FromOneLIne and Fevers of the Mind anthologies, he is currently working on a short story collection. X: @DmDavanti Bluesky @dezmonddavanti.bsky.social
Signature Wanderlust
Exit the vast vacancy
hop the last train out of nowhere
and just leave it all behind;
exchange a static life
to embrace the strange expanse
flashing by.
Listen for the frantic wail
of a saxophone somewhere
in the distance
ride it straight
into the throbbing vortex
of the Great American Scream.
There are mysteries
at the end of dirt roads;
juke joints that never close,
tiny towns where joy is a harvest
and character remains the local currency.
Standing in cold rain
bloody knuckles, mud caked boots
and empty pockets
but at least
you know you’re free.
Harrisburg Revisited
There are no pigeons in Harrisburg.
They are all down
in Lancaster
trafficking Amish mail.
There is nothing left in Harrisburg
but empty storefronts and blank stares.
Fevers of the Mind 