Wyatt Edwards

Roadkill

I am rotting with envy.

I clutch at my chest and whimper like a wounded animal

Roadkill at the side of the street.

I am decomposing into the ground,

One with the soil and the worms and the sticks and leaves

I am part of the mud

Like a man should be.

I am filled with maggots and fruit flies,

They’re eating away at my dry skin and wrong parts and heavy bones

And I’m okay with it.

If men are disgusting, then I want to be filthy.

If men are disgusting, then I want to be made of trash and bugsand mud and gunk.

I want to be left to rot at the side of the street

With the roadkill and trash and cigarettes.

Let the sun and rain and wind do what they will with my body,

I’ll make myself at home.

And at home will rot with envy

And whimper like a wounded dog.

At home I will wish I am part of the mud

Like a man should be.

Wyatt Edwards is currently a general biology student at EIU with no declared minor yet. Along with science, he enjoys music and writing about anything and everything, his biggest inspirations being his partner, his friends, and his journey through transitioning as a transgender male. Though never having taken an official class for writing, Wyatt has attended EIU's creative writing camp for 3 years and has won scholarships for his creative/essay writing.