I sit in the prenatal black of
A chaotic new moon,
Waist-deep
In the marsh,
It clings to my legs like
A salmon to its home-stream,
Slip-sliding up
the cliffs and
Crags of my shoulder blades
As they extend cupped hands
As pixie-stars fall ash-like
As fingertips touch green
I feel snakes.
They pulse peristaltic,
Tasting the glow of my palms,
Maws encircling
My fingers like rings,
My wrists,
My shoulders,
I am the feeder and the feed,
Yet I feel no fear as
The new moon wilts
And tumbles into the pit.
Tobi was the youngest speaker for the 2016 TedxValenciaHighSchool. She has been published in Adonis Designs Press, Basil O’Flaherty (2 pieces), and Phosphene Literature Journal, Chautauqua Journal, Panoplyzine, and Rattle. She also won a Silver Key in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Tobi writes for many reasons; one of them is to inspire change. She wants to change the world, and in her opinion, change doesn’t have to be big. Maybe she can bring a new perspective to light. Maybe her words can bring joy. To her, any small shift can be change.