In a lab full of urine and toads,
technicians fill each syringe to the line.
The small glass jars not smashed in the post
are laid out in sickly rows of pale piss.
Lifted, one by one, from the tank
by a gloved hand, the African Clawed Toads
extend their plump thighs to the needle,
are popped back into the metal chamber.
Results come quickly. Hundreds of empty eggs.
Now is the time of deep breaths and belief.
Lower your eyes from the full moon,
lay a silver necklace across the collar bone
to deflect the ghostly rays –
place a dagger under your bed.
Stephanie Conn is the author of Copeland’s Daughter (Smith/ Doorstep), The Woman on the Other Side, Island and off-kilter, all published by Doire Press. Her recent PhD explored the poetry of chronic illness. Stephanie’s prizes include the Seamus Heaney Award for New Writing. She will be one of the 2023 resident artists at the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris.
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