Monster(s) by Elysha Snider

May 16, 2022
Poem title: Monster(s) Poet name: Elysha Snider Poem: I called you a werewolf because of your hair. And you know what they say- hair is full of secrets. Remember when we watched Mean Girls? We shared Junior Mints and I dropped the box, sticky peppermint stained my shoes and you laughed. But you say sweets and recollections are not nutritious. You crave emptiness instead, creeping so quietly you float. Mom and Dad hold hands to the sounds of your exhausted space heater, rasping exhales after vinegar shots that pickle your insides. But I can’t listen. I eat what’s left. Pop-Tarts and lasagna and my questions. Dinners too- you push your food to the side, so I swallow it. Stalking your rotting breadcrumbs to a segmented spine and dark incertitude. ...Did you know hauntings are contagious? ...I’m surprised too. Butterscotch wrappers in my pocket, my crinkling companion in reticence. Starved eyes masking puffy cheeks and suffocating dresses- a figure brimming with secrets, creeping by your side. So maybe they’re not so different, these beasts of ours. Maybe they try to absolve our troubles, whether we starve them or consume. End of poem. Credits and bio: Copyright © Elysha Snider An early version of this poem appeared in Red Deer College’s (now Red Deer Polytechnic’s) 2018 Agora Student Conference Journal. Elysha Snider is a Master of Arts student at the University of Calgary. With the support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, she is presently exploring the ecological interrelatedness of the Anthropocene and the literature of haunted houses. Elysha lives in Central Alberta with her husband and cat.