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This poem was first published on 15 December 2014. We are re-presenting it this week as part of our resistance special.


Content warning:


There are women
who have let truth fill their mouths
like sunrise
Women
who have built homes
in broken wombs
to mend what is lost
They are daughters
of storms
of the burning wind
of a healing they have kept
under their skirts
under their tongues
These are women
who have danced to an ancient pain
of memories passed down
like blood
They made a savior
out of deep love they had
for themselves
for their skin
for their heritage



Thato Angela Chuma is a Motswana singer, poet and writer. Her poetry has featured in literary magazines such as Words Dance Publishing, Saraba Magazine, Brittle Paper, The Kalahari Review and The Machinery India.
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18 Mar 2024

Strange Horizons
We are very happy to welcome Dante Luiz as a new fiction editor on the team! Dante is a Ignyte Award winning author, and has been with Strange Horizons working as an Art Director for the past several years. We’re stoked to bring him on to the fiction side and have him bring his wonderful insight and skill to the fiction team.
Day in and day out, the rough waters of the Pacific slam themselves against the protrusion of sandstone the locals refer to as Morro Rock. White streaks of bird shit bleed down the rock, a testament to the rare birds of prey that nest in its pocked face overlooking the bay.
in my defence, juggling biological and artificial, i tripped over my shoelace, and spilled my lungs empty of the innocence that was, before guilt.
the birds, / who carry with them / the many names of the dead
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