Size / / /

Watergate

is a quaint bedtime story

Why send minions

on clandestine capers

when I can move like air

through my rival's HQ

caressing surveillance cameras

and blowing whisper kisses

in security guards' ears

I'm too old to run for president

but identity theft has knocked off a few years

I'm supermodel thin

and the body suit I wear

(bandages are HMO-shabby)

adds additional firmness

No cash on cosmetic surgery,

zero time on hair and makeup,

leaves more of me for you, dear voter

A woman president is nothing new,

but an invisible woman president—that's change

My opponents are hesitant

to mention my condition

(no one says "disability")

I am able to infiltrate terrorist tunnels—

my foreign policy platform—

but a fix for the economy, alas, remains

invisible.


Karen A. Romanko has seen over 100 of her poems and short stories published in venues such as Aberrant Dreams, Ideomancer, Lone Star Stories, The Pedestal Magazine, and Full Unit Hookup. She also edits and publishes e-zine Raven Electrick and recently released the trade paperback anthology Sporty Spec: Games of the Fantastic. More of Karen's work is available in the Strange Horizons archive. You can view Karen's website at http://romanko.org/karen. Karen can be reached by email at comments@ravenelectrick.com.



Karen A. Romanko
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18 Nov 2024

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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
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