Confirmation Bias
I wanted to confirm the existence
of a man, who would love me enough
to brush his eyelashes against my face,
like you would a child.
I consulted rooms filled with experts;
sound engineers, folklorists, ghost hunters.
No one could definitively say
whether this was even possible.
But the shadow found his way
in front of my face. He lurked
in the background of every frame.
Close enough to parade around
to anyone who would listen,
but not close enough to touch.
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.
