howl

By Emmy Schroeder

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“When I was a child, I was sexually assaulted, but not by any particular person. It was my culture that had his way with me.”

Julia Serano

when I spread

my legs &

whisper your name

you know I

don’t want you, I

want love, but I

don’t know where

it comes from. You

can feel how close

I am to breaking in two,

but still you cling

to me, tearing flesh

from bone, spilling

out my insides & there

are tears in my eyes

when I kiss you

goodbye.

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Emmy Schroeder is from Austin, Texas. She received her undergraduate degree from Texas Tech University. Her work has been published in Screen Door Review and is forthcoming in The Sterling Spoon. She is a queer transgender woman living in Los Angeles, California.