Size / / /

This poem is part of our 2015 fund drive bonus issue! Read more about Strange Horizons' funding model, or donate, here.


they don’t tell you
the circle of mushrooms may as well
be inevitable

seasons will choke,
leaving husks dense
with regret

they don’t tell you
to save yourself: you must be willing
to succumb to the pull

drowning is not so easy
as gulping water
or falling

listen

it does not matter where you step:
outcomes are different
than conclusions

your surrender:
affirmation
recourse

and perhaps when your lungs flood
with regret
and the surge of air wrests away
your pauses

you will be redeemed:

infinite circles
never unravel




Sasha Kim is currently a junior at Ringling College, studying illustration. When not wrestling with art, she drinks too much tea, reads, and can sometimes be coaxed into writing as well. This is her first published poem.
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