‘Invasion-theater’
Artist Theodoor Grimes
Invasion-theater
They look like us, the pod people.
On the other side of the screens
tasked with rearing the children,
and finding old lovers,
and comparing the best ways
to rend flesh from your forearms.
They look like us, the pod people.
I’ve been tethering my safety
to the clickbait and talking heads--
they know what’s best.
I only buy what’s prompted.
I believe in
what’s spoon-fed from the backs
of my palms,
funneled in the collective ways
we like to mutilate
our insides.
They look like us, the pod people.
But they aren’t us
so we hate them,
just like screens tell us
where to shoot.
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 is forthcoming in Discretionary Love, Wingless Dreamer, and Backyard Literary Magazine, et. al. She is also aggressively seeking a sponsorship from Mountain Dew.
Theodoor Gabriella Malaika Grimes (They/He) is a Black gender expansive digital artist known for his vibrant illustrations that center the queer experience under the moniker ggggrimes. Based in the Bronx, Theodoor is entirely self taught. ggggrimes’ work expresses brilliantly colorful, lush, and tranquil depictions of queer life while recognizing the significance of interdisciplinary spirituality and cultural identity held by trans people of color.
