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Is a small beast with a body of Celtic knots. Ears twitching
soft as a doe's.
Lively-eyed, narrow-eyed. His nose is long and
wide, wide open.

My prayer to him is simple at first. I want what I want
and want it back.
But vain hours later I'm inventing prayers of smoke
and mirrors,

knotted into silver lace. They rise into the tarnished sky
sparking and weaving
all ears, all eyes, all long, long nose. Please be seeking, be
finding, be bringing

it back to my hand, oh beast, how my hands then will stroke
those ears, bless
those bright eyes, how I will delight that nose with delicious
tidbits, offerings

of thanks. How I will make a pet of you place you in my silken
cage lined with your new
velvet bed. How when you curl there I will say I want what I want
and I want it. You.




Neile Graham's life is full of writing and writers. She is a graduate of Clarion West Writers Workshop and currently serves as their workshop director. Her poetry collections are Seven Robins, Spells for Clear Vision, and Blood Memory, and a spoken word CD, She Says: Poems Selected and New.
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18 Nov 2024

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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
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