Size / / /

sed revocare gradum superasque evadere ad auras,
hoc opus, hic labor est.

Yesterday the sibyl spoke
at Cumae one hundred mouths
one hundred lips, tunnels, screams,
tongues opened, and we heard

the god's voice shining: the sound
of death in rushing waters
the clouds array forth battle
there's blood in the flight of birds

and promises, promises, promises
the words you dream in ruins.

O Musegetes Hekebolos Mantikos
Phoibos Apollon Parnopios
what plague-born poem is singing
from the arrows of your tongue?

(I dreamed of Sappho first
forgot all after, thirsting
for the poem she would become.
O Muse O Muse O Muse—)

The thirst of Tantalos
to stoop and scoop and never drink
to drink and drink and never slake
with wine or water longing

Yesterday one hundred mouths
one hundred tongues spoke
inescapable Nemesis sounding
from every shadowy cave

with promises, promises, promises
the words you dream in ruins
the downward hellward path, the door
that night and day stands wide—

And are you brave, brave, brave?
And are you brave?




Liz Bourke is a cranky queer person who reads books. She holds a Ph.D in Classics from Trinity College, Dublin. Her first book, Sleeping With Monsters, a collection of reviews and criticism, is published by Aqueduct Press. Find her at her blog, where she's been known to talk about even more books thanks to her Patreon supporters. Or find her at her Twitter. She supports the work of the Irish Refugee Council and the Abortion Rights Campaign.
Current Issue
29 May 2023

We are touched and encouraged to see an overwhelming response from writers from the Sino diaspora as well as BIPOC creators in various parts of the world. And such diverse and daring takes of wuxia and xianxia, from contemporary to the far reaches of space!
By: L Chan
The air was redolent with machine oil; rich and unctuous, and synthesised alcohol, sharper than a knife on the tongue.
“Leaping Crane don’t want me to tell you this,” Poppy continued, “but I’m the most dangerous thing in the West. We’ll get you to your brother safe before you know it.”
Many eons ago, when the first dawn broke over the newborn mortal world, the children of the Heavenly Realm assembled at the Golden Sky Palace.
Winter storm: lightning flashes old ghosts on my blade.
transplanted from your temple and missing the persimmons in bloom
immigrant daughters dodge sharp barbs thrown in ambush 十面埋伏 from all directions
Many trans and marginalised people in our world can do the exact same things that everyone else has done to overcome challenges and find happiness, only for others to come in and do what they want as Ren Woxing did, and probably, when asked why, they would simply say Xiang Wentian: to ask the heavens. And perhaps we the readers, who are told this story from Linghu Chong’s point of view, should do more to question the actions of people before blindly following along to cause harm.
Before the Occupation, righteousness might have meant taking overt stands against the distant invaders of their ancestral homelands through donating money, labour, or expertise to Chinese wartime efforts. Yet during the Occupation, such behaviour would get one killed or suspected of treason; one might find it better to remain discreet and fade into the background, or leave for safer shores. Could one uphold justice and righteousness quietly, subtly, and effectively within such a world of harshness and deprivation?
Issue 22 May 2023
Issue 15 May 2023
Issue 8 May 2023
Issue 1 May 2023
Issue 24 Apr 2023
Issue 17 Apr 2023
Issue 10 Apr 2023
Issue 3 Apr 2023
Issue 27 Mar 2023
Issue 20 Mar 2023
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