Cornfield Forts
BY EMMA LOOMIS-AMRHEIN.
what does it mean to reflect on a tomboy girlhood as a trans woman?
climbing down the limestone cliffs with friends
to jump topless into the swimming hole,
drying in the dappled sunlight on the bank,
picking mulberries and catching crawdads,
feasting ‘round makeshift firepits,
tang of honeysuckle and osage,
owls caterwauling as the sky turns rose,
distant storm clouds a burnt orange.
first drink of whiskey sitting on the back of a rusted Allis-Chalmers,
barn door wide open to smell the rain,
three pairs of hands flicking pebbles
into the water-worn groove from the tin roof overhang,
humming with the buzz of rain and of spirits in our bellies,
laughing like the rustle of mice in the timothy and clover overhead,
finally falling asleep as the clouds part ways like a sigh,
our bodies wrapped in flannel, washed in moonlight.
sneaking out into the Fulton’s cornfield in late August,
half a fifth of bulleit and a handful of pocket-knives,
cutting stalks from the middle of the field in a ten-by-ten square,
weaving them along the edge of standing corn,
a giant basket, surrounded by the smells of summer with a pang of sadness;
the stars above and the soil below, knowing this was already over.
32DD $1.99
BY EMMA LOOMIS-AMRHEIN.
the cheapest boobs i found that didn’t come out of a dumpster or free box
were at a st. vincent thrift store in ohio.
you never left my side and the maga hats and camo pants
walked on by
when the elderly woman shopping for underwear came up behind me
you nonchalantly held up the first négligée
that connected with your left hand on the rack
“how about this one?”
i wonder how many times those words
from the mouths of loving partners and friends
kept people walking
let trans sisters buy the padded thrift store tits they’d been longing to have for months
removed a slap or a bruise from the future
saved a life
Emma Loomis-Amrhein is a trans farmer and naturalist with a penchant for admiring birds. Her work is featured in Hematopoiesis Press, anonymous publications, and in several diy zines. The primary focus of her practice centers poetry, phenology, agriculture, and sculpture, and is rooted in historiographies of body and place. Emma holds a BA in literature from Antioch College and currently resides in southern Ohio with her partner and their ever growing collection of plants. You can keep up with her on Instagram @birdingwhilequeer.