Size / / /

When they changed their minds,

they changed their forms as well.

Fresh-minted, teneral, a new body—

with new ideas—crept from each

rejected discard. Membranous husks

of former selves wafted sadly

along lonely turnpikes, ghosting

in dying winds, or sagged, deflating,

under NO EGRESS HERE signs.

With each rebirth their exoskeletons

became more heavily armored;

their defense mechanisms more toxic.

Their tongues had a thousand words

for self-improvement, but no words

for guilt, none for regret




F.J. Bergmann frequents Wisconsin and fibitz.com and intends to go down in history as the inventor of Time Pockets. She is the author of Constellation of the Dragonfly, Aqua Regia (Parallel Press, 2007), and Sauce Robert (Pavement Saw Press, 2003). Her work has appeared in Asimov's, Mythic Delirium, Niteblade, Weird Tales, and literary journals that should have known better. She is the poetry editor of Mobius: The Journal of Social Change. You can see more of her work in our archives.
Current Issue
4 Nov 2024

“Did you know,” the witch says, “that a witch has no heart of her own?”
Outsiders, Off-worlders {how quickly one carves out a corner of the cosmos, / claims a singular celestial body as [o u r s] in the scope of infinity}
Lunar enby folks across here
Wednesday: The 2024 Ignyte Award for Best Novel Shortlist, Part Two 
Friday: A Place Between Waking and Forgetting by Eugen Bacon 
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By: KT Bryski
Podcast read by: Devin Martin
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By: Christopher Blake
Podcast read by: Emmie Christie
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By: LeeAnn Perry
Art by: nino
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