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
Current Issue
22 Apr 2024

We’d been on holiday at the Shoon Sea only three days when the incident occurred. Dr. Gar had been staying there a few months for medical research and had urged me and my friend Shooshooey to visit.
...
Tu enfiles longuement la chemise des murs,/ tout comme d’autres le font avec la chemise de la mort.
The little monster was not born like a human child, yelling with cold and terror as he left his mother’s womb. He had come to life little by little, on the high, three-legged bench. When his eyes had opened, they met the eyes of the broad-shouldered sculptor, watching them tenderly.
Le petit monstre n’était pas né comme un enfant des hommes, criant de froid et de terreur au sortir du ventre maternel. Il avait pris vie peu à peu, sur la haute selle à trois pieds, et quand ses yeux s’étaient ouverts, ils avaient rencontré ceux du sculpteur aux larges épaules, qui le regardaient tendrement.
We're delighted to welcome Nat Paterson to the blog, to tell us more about his translation of Léopold Chauveau's story 'The Little Monster'/ 'Le Petit Monstre', which appears in our April 2024 issue.
For a long time now you’ve put on the shirt of the walls,/just as others might put on a shroud.
Issue 15 Apr 2024
By: Ana Hurtado
Art by: delila
Issue 8 Apr 2024
Issue 1 Apr 2024
Issue 25 Mar 2024
By: Sammy Lê
Art by: Kim Hu
Issue 18 Mar 2024
Strange Horizons
Issue 11 Mar 2024
Issue 4 Mar 2024
Issue 26 Feb 2024
Issue 19 Feb 2024
Issue 12 Feb 2024
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