Size / / /

(for Leah)

They warned me not to go to Carterhaugh—

Tam Lin was there

And he had a reputation

For using women.

But I went anyway,

And he wasn't so bad looking.

Tam Lin

Had some sort of thing going

With the Queen of Faery.

I fell off my horse, he told me;

I fell asleep;

The Queen enchanted me.

Yeah, right—at least Thomas never lied about it.

Rescue me, Tam Lin said—

Like I owed him something

For a roll in the rose-garden.

She'll turn me into an adder, he said.

Big news.

I've known a lot of snakes.

She'll turn me into a wild beast, he said;

I've known men like that, too.

She'll turn me into a flame, he said—

Like I haven't been burned before.

Sorry, I told him,

You can go to Hell—

I'm just here

To say good-bye.

I'll tell my folks you're shacked up with some queen.

. . . The kid's great

Though it's kind of hard raising him alone.

But I'm not worried.

If my knight never comes.

Hey—once you've strapped it on a few times,

You find out armor ain't so hard to wear.




Bio to come.
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