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I only know one or two constellations from my night sky
maybe more, but I can’t hardly see any of the stars anymore.
Perhaps a new urban system of star navigation is needed
one that makes allowances for missing stars, disconnected constellations
perhaps made up of just one or two directional points
the most important ones that are always there.

Perhaps each city will need its own chart, dependent on the level
of light pollution and air pollution blocking out swaths of space
or two or three charts to a region depending on what to expect of the season
and how much cloud cover to expect.

Most of our constellations were written for sea travel anyway
and not necessarily for new lovers to try to pick out
from the front seat of a car, parked high in the hills
like we are, squinting through the smog we can’t seem to climb past
no matter how many times you restart the engine
to drive us to a higher point.



Holly Day has taught writing classes at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, since 2000. Her poetry has recently appeared in Big Muddy, The Cape Rock, New Ohio Review, and Gargoyle, and her published books include Walking Twin Cities, Music Theory for Dummies, Ugly Girl, and The Yellow Dot of a Daisy. She has been a featured presenter at Write On, Door County (WI), North Coast Redwoods Writers’ Conference (CA), and the Spirit Lake Poetry Series (MN). Her newest poetry collections are A Perfect Day for Semaphore (Finishing Line Press) and I’m in a Place Where Reason Went Missing (Main Street Rag Publishing Co.).
Current Issue
5 Oct 2026

In time, the entire shift’s 138 Express inbound transfers are processed, and I’m free to service passengers from other lines. These transfers are unremarkable. These passengers aren’t refugees.
Forgive me, someone.
Turn on the stove. See it startle.
In this episode of Critical Friends , the Strange Horizons criticism podcast, Dan Hartland is joined by Ryan Elliot and Rosanna Pendlebury, to ask questions about literary SFF. What is it? How do we know it when we see it? And what’s it good for?
Friday: The Stars my Destination by Alfred Bester 
Issue 28 Sep 2026
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Wednesday: Khauf 
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