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your (“spell”) says
cut a vein and stain
the pried petals
of a (“rose”) {
  but synthBlooms cost
  too.pretty.a.penny and
  the petals hold fast,
  live=longer than your (“ancestors”)
  did {
    and when you rend
    your wristHatch open you cannot
    (“bleed”) for your lost.heritage {
      you can only tangle
      your fingers+in the wires,
      pull to feel the zap.of.something that {
        in another (“life”);
      } couldn’t {
        be turned () off;
      }
    }
  }
}



Elis Montgomery is a speculative fiction writer from Vancouver, Canada. She is a member of SFWA and Codex. When she’s not writing, she’s usually hanging upside down in an aerial arts class or a murky cave. Find her there or at elismontgomery.com.
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13 Jul 2026

The guillotine was conceived as swifter, painless, more humane. You touch your throat. You wonder.
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