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Nobody needs your damn armada.
Come hear the truth from me.
I'll tie you to the mast, Capitán,
kelp-tickle your beard
as you sink into the sea.
No more a mermaid
than a taxidermied monkey
neither selkie nor siren
am I
nothing so glorified.
Solamente soy una guadaña:
spindrift and ozone solidified,
fashioned human on this armature
of shipwreck splinters
and adipocere.

    Soon I will flow back
    lentamente
    a kiss dissolving into Mother . . .

Insidious as rats in steerage,
I infiltrated your crew.
Tongue oily as seals, I pirated
your words, a language that skewers sea,
making masculine.
In these dark alleys
between night-crested waves,
I whispered queries marlin-sharp
to sailor and soldier alike.
See how they rise,
Mutiny their answer.
I smashed your puny sextants
on principle, slashed your maps
for spite.
Now ready your wrists
for my lightning strike.

    And seeded throughout your fleet
    my salt sisters shadow me . . .

The only monarch we mind:
Oceana
(To your knees! The deep-sea chorus
sings! "Celosa medusa, Hermosa bruja . . .").
The only regent we recognize:
her bastard consort Gravity.
Too long have you siphoned
sacrifices meant for our goddess,
too often squandered blood
on beaches that should have slaked
the whirlpool mouths of
our queen. Mi reina
sends assassins not ambassadors,
death not diplomacy.
For her, I bleed.

    A monad in the depths, I dreamed darker
    than the ichor spilling from this illusion.
    This effigy is a shell
    soon to be discarded . . .

Propelled by Majesty's orders
I clip throats and sails.
With whale-oil overboard I ignite
mis hermanas olas
so bright your enemies
shield their eyes on shore.
Proud, I bring this plague ship
to port on benthic floor.
Your flotilla twirls and tumbles,
castillos al revés.

    Mother mocks your keeled cathedrals
    and turns them into pearls.




Lisa M. Bradley is a Tejana living in Iowa. Her words have infiltrated Uncanny Magazine, Interfictions, Cicada, The Moment of Change, Mythic Delirium, and other publications. She loves gothic country music, broken taboos, Spanglish, and horror films—all of which influenced her collection, The Haunted Girl (Aqueduct Press). For more, see her website or Twitter.
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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