Size / / /

He stands, a boy with hands that tremble,
in a courtyard slicked by rain
and blood, and tosses maple seeds
in the air to spiral onto the stones.
Something greasy marks the slates,
as if they too were once alive
and ready to spring up or fall -- but any memory
of that has been crushed out of them
and they lie and wait for time
to grind them to dust.

He is the good son, and doesn't look
at the bodies that dangle by bony wrists
from the top of the gate. He is the good
son, and someday he will walk
the battlements of this castle
as its lord. But until that day,
he bows with the rest, and watches,
and hides from sharp knives in the night.
His mother taught him--

The boy squeezes his eyelids tight,
remembering red wells
too deep to bring up tears. He feels
a seed land on his foot
and jumps back. Magpies dart
around the castle's banners
and shriek at the knights
who ride in and ride out.

In a weak moment, the boy counts--
one body, two, a dozen
and he wonders if their ghosts
remember him, or if they
have gone too far to recall
their stolen lives.
This is the mathematics of power:
adding the dead,
dividing the living,
multiplying the sorrows.

 

Copyright © 2002 Jennifer Crow

Reader Comments


Jennifer Crow's work has appeared in numerous genre magazines, including Talebones, Frisson, and Dreams and Nightmares. When not writing, she reads obsessively, bakes cookies, and hunts for Devonian-era fossils.



Shy and nocturnal, Jennifer Crow has never been photographed in the wild. It is rumored that she lives in the woods near Buffalo. Her work has appeared in a number of print and electronic venues, including several anthologies such as Ruins: Extraterrestrial, Desolate Places, Jabberwocky 3, and Sporty Spec. Her blog is located here, and she may be reached by e-mail at kythiaranos@yahoo.com.
Current Issue
18 Nov 2024

Your distress signals are understood
Somehow we’re now Harold Lloyd/Jackie Chan, letting go of the minute hand
It was always a beautiful day on April 22, 1952.
By: Susannah Rand
Podcast read by: Claire McNerney
In this episode of the Strange Horizons Fiction podcast, Michael Ireland presents Little Lila by Susannah Rand, read by Claire McNerney. Subscribe to the Strange Horizons podcast: Spotify
Friday: The 23rd Hero by Rebecca Anne Nguyen 
Issue 11 Nov 2024
Issue 4 Nov 2024
Issue 28 Oct 2024
Issue 21 Oct 2024
By: KT Bryski
Podcast read by: Devin Martin
Issue 14 Oct 2024
Issue 7 Oct 2024
By: Christopher Blake
Podcast read by: Emmie Christie
Issue 30 Sep 2024
Issue 23 Sep 2024
By: LeeAnn Perry
Art by: nino
Issue 16 Sep 2024
Issue 9 Sep 2024
Load More