Thalassophobia

by Scott-Patrick Mitchell

Seaweed bleeds a Hadal ache,
             opaque harrowed cape,
and you tremble in The Shallows. 
             A black wave. A gallows reef.
Yonder? Sonder: Eldritch Ocean Abyss.
             Deep waters, darker altars. 
Tender shadow tendril  
             monster yourself real. 
In the furrow, new harps for scientific art. 
             They strum, slither for your soles  
as waves draw them in,
             towing adrenal line. 

Scott-Patrick Mitchell was the recipient of the 2022 Red Room Poetry Fellowship and the 2023 XYZ Prize for Innovation in Spoken Word. Their debut poetry collection Clean (Upswell Publishing, 2022) was shortlisted for The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, The WA Premier’s Book Awards and The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards.