Scrawny Prospero
︎︎︎ Jillian Fantin
︎ MAR 30, 2022
i’m a cough in
the croak of a
word ignored
in favour of
the mucus.
there’s a never
in the cleaver
and an almost
in a sugar bowl
my acrylic slit—
that is, my eye
slit where my
eyeball used to
be—if you reach
in far enough
you can pull out
a copper bell.
if you shake
shake shake it,
a little carousel
horse whinnies
with a knife
in his muzzle
and his angry
rider will scold
your choice
of textiles
it’s another night
without a hat
or a shoe rack.
when i asked
for a purpose,
i got a waffle.
the croak of a
word ignored
in favour of
the mucus.
there’s a never
in the cleaver
and an almost
in a sugar bowl
my acrylic slit—
that is, my eye
slit where my
eyeball used to
be—if you reach
in far enough
you can pull out
a copper bell.
if you shake
shake shake it,
a little carousel
horse whinnies
with a knife
in his muzzle
and his angry
rider will scold
your choice
of textiles
it’s another night
without a hat
or a shoe rack.
when i asked
for a purpose,
i got a waffle.
Jillian A. Fantin is a poet, the recipient of a 2021 Poet Fellowship from the Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing, and a regular collaborator with Chicago-based mixed media artist Kate Luther. Jillian’s work is published in or forthcoming from The American Journal of Poetry, TIMBER, Barrelhouse, The Daily Drunk, Harpur Palate, Selcouth Station, Homology Lit, and elsewhere. @jilly_stardust