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You on your first lungs?
The original, some parts still tinted pink
The rest green and clogged

It would be so easy, she thinks
To ask for a replacement
Human, maybe, slipped in underneath her breasts
Or better yet, something mechanical
Rising and falling on a machine’s time
The anti-rejection meds wouldn’t be so bad
Compared to all this

They would put them in
Sleek and carbon fiber, nanotubes and filtering intact
Now you are whole they would say
Now your life belongs to us

Outside the city would be neon. On her right breast
A pulse would beat
Charged, semi-charged, seek a power source immediately.

More human than human?
Maybe. The fantasy of cyborgs and androids so real.
Would it be worth it, to breathe deeply again?

You on your first lungs?
Yes, but I won’t be for long.



Elizabeth Kestrel Rogers is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh with an MSc in Creative Writing. She now lives in California, dreaming of becoming a cyborg. She can be found on Twitter @KestrelUnicorn.
Current Issue
22 Jul 2024

By: Mónika Rusvai
Translated by: Vivien Urban
Jadwiga is the city. Her body dissolves in the walls, her consciousness seeps into the cracks, her memory merges with the memories of buildings.
Jadwiga a város. Teste felszívódik a falakban, tudata behálózza a repedéseket, emlékezete összekeveredik az épületek emlékezetével.
Aqui jaz a rainha, gigante e imóvel, cada um de seus seis braços caídos e abertos, curvados, tomados de leves espasmos, como se esquecesse de que não estava mais viva.
By: Sourav Roy
Translated by: Carol D'Souza
I said sky/ and with a stainless-steel plate covered/ the rotis going stale 
मैंने कहा आकाश/ और स्टेनलेस स्टील की थाली से ढक दिया/ बासी पड़ रही रोटियों को
By: H. Pueyo
Translated by: H. Pueyo
Here lies the queen, giant and still, each of her six arms sprawled, open, curved, twitching like she forgot she no longer breathed.
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