Size / / /

Content warning:


Half moon in the pale blue sky
is half the moon it used to be.
Bobbing like this isn't like what it was
with the apples.
I suffer. We all suffer now
from seasickness.

I still can't believe we went there.
I still can't believe we went back to Dad's
after all that time. We're a long way from home now.
The moon, full, like Jeff Buckley sang,
as a plate, she is a long way from home. But here we are in Pennsylvania,
a land where no more miracles grow.
Whatever it means to be "in."

Forests are no longer cast here.
I feel a mounting pressure in my orbit.

There is a sign:
If you see anything defying reason, any spell unspun,
do like Nike said and just do it.
"Do" meaning "shoot."
If you see anything black,
do like Nixon said and just shoot it.
"Shoot" meaning "burn."

All resemblance to real folk,
be they ter- or mer-,
is completely unintended.

(Falsehoods, I learned, indicate truth one way or another.)

Because no one can tell,
the best place to cry is underwater.

The keystone state is turning into a mermaid.
Soon it will reside underwater.
One day all states will be
great places to cry.



Matt Alexander is a scientist and writer in Philadelphia. When struck by insight, he shouts “Bazinga!,” not “Eureka!,” although he has nothing against Archimedes and is in fact himself an avid bath-taker. His short stories and poems have been featured in Maudlin House, Flapperhouse, After the Pause, and others. You can follow him on Twitter at @thenamesmatta.
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
Load More
%d bloggers like this: