Poetry

FALL 2021

someday your animal

by A. HENRY CARNELL

some day
your animal toes 
will turnip out of soil
legs branching in 
and                out
stalks stringy                
your mouth
an artery
choking 
in loam silt sand
miracle of your body
a squash with         a hard rind 
each morning                 a mourning 
of pruning with             fingers dug in
the beet your                             heart soaking
and seeping             ravishing red 
like a radish                          it’s not always 
the sprout of               what becomes 
but the drift    wood of what 
emerges elbows edging 
the garden beds
I was enough 
without the rocks 
which crimped and
condensed my roots

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A. Henry Carnell

A. Henry Carnell is a trans* zine-maker and poet, active in mutual-aid organizing and environmental education. Currently, they are completing their undergraduate degree in English and environmental studies at Williams College. You can find them at @hencarnell on Twitter and Instagram. This poem is their first published work—they are really really excited about it and hope you are too!