Atop the stone pedestal
the world looked different;
like it could’ve been wide enough
still to hold us.
But there was never any light
past the trees.
We were dead.
It didn’t matter
that our bodies
were fucking
on the piles of laundry.
It didn’t matter
we were howling in unison.
When the rats found my body,
with eyes closed,
their touch
was so much like yours.
Elle Jay Snyder is a trans woman, poet, and part-time phantom from Staten Island. She has represented her borough as part of the 2018 Advanced Slam Team at NPS, facilitated workshops in her community and for LGBTQIA youth, buried herself alive at Queer Van Kult: Revelation exhibition in 2022, and published a limited release chapbook, Where the Knife Landed, from NYSAI Press. Her work has appeared in several anthologies from great weather for MEDIA Press, Lupercalia Press, In Between Hangovers, et. al. Her work is forthcoming in Word’s Faire, and the next anthology from Querencia Press. She is also aggressively seeking a sponsorship from Mountain Dew.
Instagram: @ourladyofpoetics
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