i.
Sad Clown T-Shirt, bootcut jeans with no boots,
Fisherman Sweater with a mocha stain
on the right sleeve. Hanes Ultimate ® 3-Pack
and panty packing three of dad’s crew socks.
Combat Boots Sans Dissertation Defense,
cowboy cotton circle skirts with curtain
tassels concave down the chest. Pineapple
striped flannel, still smelling of Pineapple
leather moto jacket hugs from the girl
I kissed at a King Princess concert. Big
Dipper arm tattoo, Art Deco Lemon
Quartz ring that never fits right. And of course
piles of unworn bras and stocking socks
tucked in the back of the pajama drawer.
ii.
Almond nails. Jewels like walnut crusts, beetle
brooch beetling bout like a cherry cordial
necktie stitched with lace and swamp moss—I still
can’t tie without another, another
set of hands. Hair gel, hair dye, hair bleach, hair
of the dog and my cat on flair trousers.
Homestitched homestyle turtleneck discotheque,
a wardrobe dyke for a wardrobed dyke. Net
lace. Lady Diana bike-short-crewneck-
big-sunglass with a glass of tap water
avoiding sunshine mall glass from shining
the knockers knocking for my button-up:
you’ll never be Bill, Ted, Adam or Steve,
just a snakeless, twin-appled patchworked Eve.
Headshot of the poet (they/them) from the shoulders up in a black fedora-style hat (which shows their black hair), a brown Western fringe overshirt, a black undershirt. They are also wearing large silver hoop earrings, three necklaces in silver and gold, and have a septum and nostril piercing.
About the Author
Jillian A. Fantin is a poet and the recipient of a 2021 Poet Fellowship from the Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing. They also regularly collaborate with Chicago-based mixed media artist Kate Luther. Jillian’s poetry is published in or forthcoming from The American Journal of Poetry, TIMBER, The Daily Drunk, wind up mice, Selcouth Station, Homology Lit, and elsewhere.