The Last Platypus

Toby Fitch

Lyric mirage of the liquid night,

you’re the last word on improbability,

the deaf-blind bird of the river bottom.

Othered otter, beaver-rudder duckling,

deft riddler of species’ webbing—you

keep your skin dry from liquidation,

drug the sky purple with your spurs.

Like a fissure of green lightning, stark

appearances have always been fugitive.

One day soon, as you trawl the metallic

sludge, you might open those awkward

Orphic eyeballs, might even look back

to stare down a boiling, ovular moon.

Note: Due to formatting, readers will experience this poem slightly differently on a laptop versus a mobile device.

TOBY FITCH (he/they) is a Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Sydney, and the author of nine books of poetry, including Sydney Spleen (2021) and the forthcoming Or: An Autobiography (Upswell Publishing 2026). He is currently writing a book called Endlings. He lives on unceded Gadigal land with his partner, their three children and a staffy.