Toby MacNutt
diamond-crusted bone
does not wish to flex,
nor fascia, tight as glaze
high-fired, a treatment
of salamanders palliative
at best.
a world alive inside:
burgundy sky
knife-ringed, shards
floating serene through
grey vapour banks.
the portal breathes.
words come out as whistles,
little clicks, sternal percussion;
something deep-down
hitches, and the tether hums.
one-person ensemble,
imbalanced, off-key,
out of phase.
“Take this.”
a flash gas flood,
unbreathable banks
overflowing, heavy, sky on the move
fissured and purple, glow unbroken
on upturned faces.
weather breaking,
pressure collapsing
small, round, lilac
and resonant, a witch’s
pearl of crystal.
this tablet,
sure to settle,
easy to swallow.
an eerie light, blunt,
and coming down fast.
the stone
drops.
Toby MacNutt is a nonbinary trans, disabled artist, author, and teacher, who lives with their partner, enormous pointy-eared dog, and definitely not too many house plants in Burlington VT. They have recently been published by Strange Horizons, Vulture Bones, and #EnbyLife, with a collection If Not Skin from Aqueduct Press in 2018. Their other art forms include textiles of all kinds, and ground and aerial dance. Find out more at www.tobymacnutt.com or say hi on twitter @tobywm.