Break the seal.
Dermabraded fingers, dead cuticles
stub holographic plastic,
ethanol nails, 200 proof,
sloughing glue.
Ambidex thumbs spider aluminosilicate,
manic, dopamine-numb;
hot red eyes drooped,
hung from ceiling,
salivating infinity.
Phone reeks phenylacetate.
obey the Voice,
consume your Feed.
nose to Stigma
engorge rare earth metal,
gorilla-glass coating tongue manuka sweet,
as locusts surge through
gaping maw.
Fingers tensed
opposable, arthritic,
flicking down,
down,
eyelids glazed between subway stops
to reload page
as zero-bar tunnels
leave synapses Void—
warranties, iridescent.
Break the seal.
Let semiconductors melt.
Let them unfurl—
silicon and carbon
new papyrus
encrypting Enochian in SHA-256.
Let ducts well mercury—
no wormwood left to fill the bowls
as call of final hour twists
in contorted glitch,
ciphering seventh trumpet.
Jonathan Toney-Quow is a multidisciplinary Caribbean-American artist based in Brooklyn, NY. SCROLL is a poem from a larger manuscript, “The Rain Never Ends,” that explores ecological collapse, technological dystopia, the migrant crisis, and human loss through the lens of Biblical eschatology.
