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It isn’t merely the fact
that she isn’t what she was,
nor that she isn’t

not only what she is.
It’s that now, she’s never,
ever, what we call her.

This change began
—her most perplexing instar—
around the seventh zodiac.

Frantic, we planned an attack.
Words and water: a guerrilla
christening. But no luck,

no nomenclature stuck.
Now librarians can’t
shelve her, and the post offices

pile up with letters
unaddressed. She must
return, to send her
,

some guessed. If you
want to help, we gather
every third evening, chanting

names like vespers,
a long line of flashlights
sweeping through the cedars.

Sometimes she even joins
our number. Calls to herself,
hoping she answers.



Austin Dewar is a writer, educator, and speculative monk who grew up in the cicada summers of Texas and the secret, hilly places of Pittsburgh. He loves trans joy, stories about revolution and transfiguration, organizing with his community, and befriending all manner of creatures. Poems, stories, and blog at austindewar.com.
Current Issue
10 Feb 2025

The editors for the AfroSurrealism Special invite you to submit fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.
he curls his bicep into ever more and more and more bicep
Hush. He sees through / the static. Softly. It sees him back.
“Please also be reminded of the following prohibited items,” the clerk explains kindly. “No chemicals or toxic substances. No fluids over 1,000 milliliters. No lithium batteries, laptop chargers and power banks, no love, no light, no family, no safety.”
By: Alexandra Munck
Podcast read by: Claire McNerney
In this episode of the Strange Horizons Fiction podcast, Michael Ireland presents Sandrine by Alexandra Munck, read by Claire McNerney. Subscribe to the Strange Horizons podcast: Spotify
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