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What the elf prince whispered
to his ivy vine bride
when the last ancient glacier
gleamed blue in twilight gloom

What the fire-haired youth
and his raven-haired match
swore to each other
beneath the twisted cypress

That secret the wind kept
from the surface of the sea
as they wrestled a dance older
than the shape of human bone

   roaring, breaking
   murmuring, flattening

That word I dreamed
that lost, stardust word
glowing black

   not mine
      not yours
         not ours



Gabriel Ertsgaard is interviews editor for The Peace Chronicle and copy editor for the literary journal Drifting Sands. A former university English lecturer, he earned his Doctor of Letters from Drew University with a dissertation on environmental themes in a medieval legend. His poetry, criticism, and fairy tales have appeared in numerous publications.
Current Issue
2 Mar 2026

Strange Horizons
Strange Horizons invites non-fiction submissions for our March 30 special issue on “Fungi in SFF.”
Once I’ve finished writing, I will fold this letter up and tuck it into the Tristram you kindly loaned me (may it be our Galeotto … ). I’ll knock on your door, at which point I will most likely encounter a puzzled maidservant, who will ask who in the world I am, and I will explain that I am returning a book you were kind enough to bestow on me (generous creature that you are and clearly down-on-their-luck weatherworn would-be poet that I am).
the trees were softening, their bark for the hungry to scrape and scrape and spread it on whatever bread they could beg or bake
i must warn you before all else / before you poke and prod
Paul Kincaid and Dawn Macdonald join Dan Hartland to discuss style.
Strange Horizons
2 Mar 2026
Strange Horizons invites non-fiction submissions for our March 30 special issue on “Fungi in SFF.”
Issue 23 Feb 2026
Spec Fic and the Politics of Identity 
Issue 16 Feb 2026
Issue 9 Feb 2026
Issue 2 Feb 2026
By: Natasha King
Podcast read by: Jenna Hanchey
Issue 26 Jan 2026
Issue 19 Jan 2026
Issue 12 Jan 2026
Issue 5 Jan 2026
Strange Horizons
Issue 22 Dec 2025
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