Size / / /

Content warning:


The angels wear the faces of our dead
and stare at us from darkened corners
so the sun cannot glint on their blond heads.
Rather, they slink from daydreams to shadows
smelling of Chanel No. 5 and torn
family Bibles; their cadence, their low
tones let us pretend they are indeed ours
and not a nightmare with peeling faces.
We swallow hard and agree to burrow
deep into this illusion for how else
would we get to see their faces again?

So, they sip Manhattans, perch on soft
chairs, lightly holding cigarettes in taut
fingers, eyes narrowed. They look coldly at
us with their frostbitten eyes, holding court
about our failings. Their hair permed, nails scarlet,
knees slim, lashes darkly tinted. They note
each misstep, each hair out of place, quote
each stuttered word with a mocking high pitch
because someone has to teach us life’s bite
and might as well be their tough love first.
They show us the tininess of our might
against their glacial certainty. We’re caught
against their gaze, wrapped in their ashen light,
bound in their unceasing disappointment.



Sarah Titus (she/they) is a speculative poet out of Appleton, Wisconsin. She writes about generational trauma through the lenses of hauntings, abandoned attics and monstrous angels. You can find them at @sarah_writes_sometimes on Instagram.
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
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