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the goblin queen hosts a feast of oil, and the night
slips down my throat as a dream.
every soup wears a sheen; every fish belly shudders
have you ever known such simple and supple desserts?

she is cast in points, oh Queen of Under Everything—
blessed are the copper teeth, righteous are the agate nails!
horns curled precious ‘round delicate ears, nose hooked
as a question toward bloodsweetened lips.

above, I dare say, there are those who call us sister-things.
and I tell her of the Jew who swallowed her mother’s diamonds;
passed them; ate them; passed them again;
carried her bitter hoard all the way to liberation day.

goblins do not pass anything, she declares on jagged tongue.
our bellies are as earth-core, our word is as the last.
better an eater than an ancestor,
better to finish the hunger right.

how I covet the dip of her pinky into viscous fossil wine;
my voice is thin as salted water, my myth is bonemeal dry.
I mouth misshapen prayers that were lost to the dark,
grieve the shoes I’ll devour one day for a daughter—

but I smith my silence to an iron gate for the queen
knows nothing of the work that sets you free.
would she cut my throat on such callous ease?
I want to pour out slowly, I don’t even want to stain.



Avi Silver is a spec fic author (Sãoni Cycle), editor (Augur Magazine), poet, and co-founder of The Shale Project. Find their short fiction in Common Bonds: An Aromantic Speculative Anthology, and more of their poetry forthcoming in Uncanny Magazine. Learn more at mxavisilver.com or on Twitter @thescreambean.
Current Issue
20 Mar 2023

Open Fiction Submissions Window in April 
Strange Horizons will be open to fiction submissions on April 26th, 2023, at 9 a.m. UTC! To keep our response times manageable and submission windows more frequent, there will be a 1,000-story cap on submissions.
Some Facts are Difficult to Discuss 
My father’s favorite nebula, Lemon Slice, is named after his favorite dessert.
Always and Forever, Only You 
It started with a bit of music, something no one else was even listening to.
The Subway Is Another Place To Die 
The Police are dancing under the red lights / without their heads
Monday: Full Immersion by Gemma Amor 
Monday: Seasons in Hippoland by Wanjiku wa Ngũgĩ 
Wednesday: Locklands by Robert Jackson Bennett 
Issue 13 Mar 2023
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Issue 6 Feb 2023
Issue 30 Jan 2023
By: Catherine Rockwood
By: Romie Stott
Podcast read by: Ciro Faienza
Podcast read by: Catherine Rockwood
Podcast read by: Romie Stott
Podcast read by: Maureen Kincaid Speller
Issue 23 Jan 2023
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Strange Horizons
2 Jan 2023
Welcome, fellow walkers of the jianghu.
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