Speculative Fiction and Poetry
The Settee & The Stairs by David Barber
The Settee & The Stairs David Barber Author Sea Chart, insisted the old chap, a stroke making words slippery as soap, though we had come to an understanding, like a glimpse of sky through forest canopy: a séance friction writer from his youth, famous… 
On the Recycling Day by Yuan Changming
On the Recycling Day Yuan Changming One neighbor took out a blue box Full of cat skulls and dog legs Rather than glass or plastic bottles Another carries out a yellow bag Containing human bones, mostly children’s Instead of magazines or paper products A…
(R)Evolution by Yuan Changming
(R)Evolution Yuan Changming As giant ants march ahead in nightly arrays Demonstrating against the ruling humans Along the main street of every major city Hordes of hordes of vampires flood in, screaming Aloud, riding on hyenas and Octopuses, waving skeletons In their hairy hands,…
Speciating by Yuan Changming
Speciating Yuan Changming There are still sapiens on Earth. Often do we remember and feel more than proud that only we Godlings exist – the most sophisticated & most exquisite human-robot compounds. It is true that occasionally we cannot help recalling one or two…
Towards Gaxyland by Yuan Changming
Towards Gaxyland Yuan Changming Come, come You peng from the Zhuangzian northern darkness You swan from the Horacean meadows You pheasant from under Li Bo’s cold moon You oriole from Dufu’s green willow You dove from the Dantean inferno You phoenix from Shakespeare’s urn…
Translator Malfunction by Lauren McBride
Translator Malfunction Lauren McBride translator malfunction away team was asked how they past the thyme en-root This poem first appeared in Scifaikuest May 2014, print issue.
Stationed on a Gas Giant by Lauren McBride
Stationed on a Gas Giant Lauren McBride around noon, the dark swirling clouds turn yellow and the gas miners can see to read outside by sunglow for a blissful hour they switch the lights on their pressure suits off This poem first appeared…
Pink, with Feathers by Lauren McBride
Pink, with Feathers Lauren McBride Dad says that on New Earth, the most popular pet is the pird – some kind of pig-bird. When our ship lands, I guess we’ll see if pigs can fly. This poem first appeared in Spaceports & Spidersilk July…
Singularity by John C. Mannone
Singularity John C. Mannone I approach the event horizon of what looks like a spinning black hole just a little too close whether by accident or miscalculation, it doesn’t really matter. My sensors sample wind from stars caught in its grip: a fierce tsunami…
Matter of Life by Helga Anton-Beitz
Matter of Life Helga Anton-Beitz having tenure on electron’s term so busy buzzing not too distant by no means too close to the very core in any circumstances at an insane pace for annihilation lurks in the fine print
Of What Do Superior Beings Dream? by Dean Schreck
Of What Do Superior Beings Dream? Dean Schreck First published in New Myths #25 December 1, 2013 I wonder, of what do Superior Beings dream; of what is there to dream, once the stars have been subdued to but a cultured string of pearls…
Black Hole by Dean Schreck
Black Hole Dean Schreck First published in Space and Time Issue #71 Winter 1987 Black hole, relinquish your secrets— are you nothing, or are you something more? Do you sit on the edge …
Reaching Out by Frank Coffman
Reaching Out Frank Coffman The first steps–through faltering progress–reached the moon. And then we dreamt out on the goal of Mars. Indeed, we got there–in Earth-years fairly soon– Then outer planets, their moons, next beckoning stars. Propulsion was the key: how that much speed…
Poison Pie by Lori R. Lopez
Poison Pie Lori R. Lopez An exotic raven-maned accomplice with a black satin floor-length gown glides forth in strides of diabolic grace. I follow, my face a broken frown . . . Ill-at-ease, my own steps clunking…
Real-Estate by Lori R. Lopez
Real-Estate Lori R. Lopez The Handyman arrived in a snorting hiccupping Pick-Up. He consulted a small notepad page containing scribbles. The job posting listed this address. It must be the place. A For Sale Sign leaned at an angle …
Grim House by Lori R. Lopez
Grim House Lori R. Lopez Sordid and austere, ill-wrought beyond compare, A creaking morbid mass feared and loathed by name — Grayer than the sky, a mood of withering glare, Uprooted from her soil, on barge and wheels came. Of timbers born afar in…
Unfair Trade by Lori R. Lopez
Unfair Trade Lori R. Lopez We were a crew of idealists — sailing a rustbucket mortgaged spacecraft transporting products between planets, a jumbo deliveryboat manned by seven — adventurers reaching for the Stars. The latest voyage of our merchant vessel would lead us to…
A Thousand Light Years Away by Ann Christine Tabaka
A Thousand Light Years Away Ann Christine Tabaka Distant stars, held in our hands, a thousand light years past. Seeking a reason for existence, our disguise falls away. Plummeting down a black hole into infinity, abstract notions rise. Finding oneself in a vision of…
Runaway Greenhouse Effect by David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Runaway Greenhouse Effect David C. Kopaska-Merkel Pastel pink saucers and their precious cargo: tiny round-cheeked critters and their mysterious heat-sucking tech drive a surprisingly hard bargain we got to keep Zanzibar and grateful for that
First Step: Transformation by Ann Christine Tabaka
First Step: Transformation Ann Christine Tabaka The child walked away, he did not look back. Trees were his only witness. A lifetime of hidden shame, sins of the father, no longer a shadow clinging to his flesh. The forest swallowed him whole, and there…
It Fell From the Sky by Ann Christine Tabaka
It Fell From the Sky Ann Christine Tabaka It fell from the sky in a blue-green cast, singing songs of the mundane. Swept under the rug of indifference, it continued to play its requiem. It grew stronger with each coarse breath it took. Scratching…
Old Venus by David Barber
Old Venus David Barber Fuel gauge tapping empty, the rocket skims leviathans awash in steaming seas, before it sinks into the wet and suck of lush swamps. A hero makes his own luck. In the pulps, the feisty blond reporter has to be rescued…
Martian Microbes by Lauren McBride
Martian Microbes Lauren McBride They stretch out pseudopods – interlacing, interconnecting, becoming a vast mat of intelligence beneath the red surface sand. An amoeboid brain subsiding on soil perchlorates and nitrates. A colony of individual cells, independent thoughts . . . Another object is…
From the First Marine Astrobiology Expedition by Lauren McBride
From the First Marine Astrobiology Expedition Lauren McBride To My Dear Wife, I think I bathed in the toilet – the one thing in the bathroom that holds water. Remember they’re sentient fish, dear. They probably “go” in the water, and have no need…
Four Haikus by Baishampayan Seal
Four Haikus Baishampayan Seal dinosaurs extinct Alcubierre drive utilized the best possible way feeding my infant her mother’s polycarbonate breast truckload of alkaline cells ration supply for hominid-android war humans refugees in their own planet
The Sonata Machine by Logan Thrasher Collins
The Sonata Machine Logan Thrasher Collins beneath an expanse of darkness shot through with glimmering gadzillions of echoing stars, we stand, wetware toes braced against the soil’s diasporic discourse of moistly coded lactone linguisms and attoscale electrostatic blurs. we react, counteract, crickity-crack, sparking cascades…
Windhover Hall by Krista Canterbury Adams
Windhover Hall Krista Canterbury Adams Under the winter archway of oak branches my crystal hands touch the closed eyelids of Eos-Aurora, Light-bringer of Heaven. This Owl’s Head dawn moves us in our quiet wandering—step in at the iron gate, letting our heat of fever…
Tonight by Krista Canterbury Adams
Tonight Krista Canterbury Adams In the windows of the grand House, light after light trails Away into sleep. Here, a long-eared owl Flies above the garden, above all The poor flowering things, earthbound, Risking heavy feet. Owls are punishment. You said that to me…
At the sacred fire on the riverbank by Krista Canterbury Adams
At the sacred fire on the riverbank Krista Canterbury Adams Under flame-faced Lyra, in celestial sanctuary we tend in pairs, burnt eyed. We study the vast ecliptic like a holy writ held alight in the sky, we keep the flame from sputtering out. But…
Old Moon by Krista Canterbury Adams
Old Moon Krista Canterbury Adams Have pity—I hear paw steps on the path behind me, radiant in the sun-wood. I too have bent soft paw against soft earth, blameless against the call. I have seen you lie at the feet of Andromeda, eager to…
Free the Droids – Protest Songs by Christopher Collingwood
Free the Droids – Protest Songs Christopher Collingwood Protest Song 1 (Can you Hear it Beating?) There’s a price to pay When you treat me this way There’s a way you feel When you chain me to the wheel Can you hear it beating?…
Where No One’s Gone Before by Lee Hart
Where No One’s Gone Before Lee Hart In the height of the 13th century, We marched from Venice to the China sea. Our brave explorers crossed the land, Through heathens strange, adventures grand. Returning with exotic spices, Gunpowder, and other vices. …
Engineer Disease by Lee Hart
Engineer Disease Lee Hart Hello Mrs. Murphy, how has Tommy been today? You said he stays indoors and reads while others are at play? He doesn’t care a bit for sports, and doesn’t watch TVs, Unless it’s a computer screen of mindless jargonese? You…
Stardust by Lee Hart
Stardust Lee Hart Entropy’s clearly not our friend. We’ll all be stardust in the end, When Sun, with mighty nova blast, Shreds Earth into the cosmos vast. Then every molecule of us Is blown to interstellar dust. Approaching lightspeed, fragments hurled, For capture by…
Abdul Abulbul Amir by Lee Hart
Abdul Abulbul Amir Lee Hart Now tales have been told of pirates of old But the name that fills me with fear Is not Captain Kidd, or the deeds that he did But Abdul Abulbul Amir. He ignored every law, every property right What…
Mining Solo by Lauren McBride
Mining Solo Lauren McBride on this barren asteroid at night, the silence wakes me no soft rain no rustling breeze through leaves no frog lullaby nor chirping crickets not even an incessantly barking dog for company This poem first appeared in Star*Line 41.4, Fall…
In Monster Years, I’m Old by Lauren McBride
In Monster Years, I’m Old Lauren McBride First my claws grew brown and brittle; then I started drooling spittle. All my knees began to ache, and several legs began to shake. My stomach pooches, back hunches, scales have wrinkled into bunches. Lost another tooth…
Point of View by Lauren McBride
Point of View Lauren McBride At the end of each workday mining frozen gasses I pause at the airlock and remove my face mask letting my eyes mist in the bitter alien air not so different from home-world. Through acrid tears, I stare at…
The Topological Twist by Lee Hart
The Topological Twist Lee Hart It used to be the Bottom’s Up, Just one flight down from the heat. The best booth had a window With a worm’s eye view of the street. Alas, it soon went bankrupt, But it will not be missed….
High Grade Ore Lee Hart
High Grade Ore Lee Hart Now Murphy was a spacer. A miner, nothing more. A bit of human jetsam lost in night’s Plutonian shore. Until he found that asteroid, and entered into lore… Him and 40 kilotons of high grade ore. He’d manned…
Five Haiku by Denny E. Marshall
Five Haiku Denny E. Marshall (1st Published in Star*line) brain operation happy it is not a tumor sad alien died new baby robot change the oil and oil filter again and again earths gravity dies finally things are looking up aliens erase brain cells…
Five Haiku by Denny E. Marshall
Five Haiku Denny E. Marshall (1st Published in Scifaikuest) roswell aliens buried like final report twin offspring survive didn’t want to hear windows software not valid on deep space mission worst solicitor grim reaper on other planets earth called by maiden name water bad…
Pterosaur Sighting Report by Richard Stevenson
Pterosaur Sighting Report Richard Stevenson O.K. So let me see if I got this straight. You say you saw a pterosaur – not a dinosaur – gotcha – but a giant featherless flying reptile? Would that be a Pteranodon or a pterodactyl, m’am –…
Monster of the Mere by Richard Stevenson
Monster of the Mere Richard Stevenson Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Reserve, Martin Mere, Ormskirk, Lancashire – not the sort of place you’d expect honkin’ big swans and ducks to just disappear! Somethin’ the size of and weight of a truck must be comin’ up…
Pocket ‘Squatch by Richard Stevenson
Pocket ‘Squatch Richard Stevenson Ain’t got a paunch, Mama. Ain’t got a lottta hair on top. Got a hankerin’ for Pita and Hummus, Mama. Wanna go for a cuppa joe? Wanna go for a walk? Or just stay home and snuggle In fronta the…
The Glass Jar Present by Don Webb
The Glass Jar Present Don Webb Everything we perceive comes to us from the past. Everything we do goes into the future. — proverb Fil, grandson of Filip, grandson of Phillip, discovers a large glass jar in the side of a mound. It will…
Playing near You by Grove Koger
Playing near You Grove Koger They’ve scheduled the end of everything, and I just thought you’d want to know. We’re all invited, although naturally there’ll be a limited number of front-row seats available on a first-come, first-served basis. If I were you, I’d act…
Kushii by Richard Stevenson
Kushii Richard Stevenson Lake Kusharo on the northern island of Hokkaido, Japan, can claim its own thirty- to- sixty-foot crater lake cryptid. Dubbed Kushii, she’s dark brown with a horse-like head with two giraffe-like stubby nubbins and broad boat bottom back. Plesiosaur or serpent?…
Hoan Kiem Turtle by Richard Stevenson
Hoan Kiem Turtle Richard Stevenson Only one Hoan Kiem Turtle left in Hoan Kiem Lake, Japan; only five specimens known to exist. Not as big as the legend has claimed, but acclaimed nonetheless. Big as a table, but soft and leathery as a couch….
Sabine Thing by Richard Stevenson
Sabine Thing Richard Stevenson The Sabine Things ain’t aggressive or mean; ain’t no gorilla escapee from some zoo: he’s a grey-haired bipedal hominid the like of me or you. Kinda shy, retirin’. Hang fire with the blunderbuss, Gus. Put away the bows and arrows,…
Quickfoot by Richard Stevenson
Quickfoot Richard Stevenson Two sightings reports in the rural U.K. – that’s all you’ve got. No hairy hominid cell phone camera pics, no scat, no hair samples. A hairy blur is all. Not interested in showing up for roll-call – let alone posing for…
Orion and the Bull by John C. Mannone
Orion and the Bull John C. Mannone When I look up to the stars in a Halloween sky I imagine a constellation of fools chasing each other round and round the ecliptic stairway, sidestepping snakes and scorpions. I don’t think Orion as a hunter…
Listening to the Relics of Our Galaxy by John C. Mannone
Listening to the Relics of Our Galaxy John C. Mannone Astrophysicists from the University of Birmingham have captured the sounds of some of the oldest stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way, according to research published today in the Royal Astronomical Society journal Monthly…
Before the Dark Reposes by John C. Mannone
Before the Dark Reposes John C. Mannone After The Coming of Light by Mark Strand Even this early, just before the dawn, before the light can burn away hatred, when sleep hangs in sticky air as flies, demons…
Bold in Blue by Breelyn Shelkey
Bold in Blue Breelyn Shelkey In a grayscale world he is Adriatic blue with a cobalt aura Deep sea pigments eyes can barely probe Bleeding technicolored streaks onto dull canvases Forever floating in sapphire oceans Basking in moon glow Sinking to soft sand bottoms…
Twinkling’s by Breelyn Shelkey
Twinkling’s Breelyn Shelkey Time, disintegrating like dust in thin air Stop. Stare. Define. Grasp. Five senses only you can master Mentally brand, continually reflect How did it make you feel? Put it on paper The universal key to never missing a blink Cosmos still…
Imagine That by Breelyn Shelkey
Imagine That Breelyn Shelkey Write down your dreams All of them The near death experiences The beautiful ones Frightening Twisted Impossible Euphoric Even the heart shattering ones Write. Them. Down. Nine times out of ten Your dreams and reality Never match up But every…
Powdered Visualizations by Breelyn Shelkey
Powdered Visualizations Breelyn Shelkey Caked in alkaline, dust in peculiar places Neon bleeds tangerines kisses Suspended bouncy merry go round Big rig hammock, pumping ten Metal lustrous structures Finicky steps to summit Lone escapades learning to say ‘yes’ Sip the Playa’s decadent nectar and…
Big Summit Prairie by Breelyn Shelkey
Big Summit Prairie Breelyn Shelkey Picturesque figures suspended between trees Flipping, bouncing, focused, balancing Mystic multicolored tiny houses Chimes trancelike abducting attention to wild dimensions Black lake mirroring galaxies Rainbow stretching miles rippling on fields vanishing upon arrival Did you see that? Fiction was…
Symbiosis by Breelyn Shelkey
Symbiosis Breelyn Shelkey Neon mesh swallows air Beckoning floating carousels Beaming painted cracked faces saluting all aboard “Tell us something, anything” Plunging into turquoise Jell-O Pushing hands through millions of molecules Technicolor tabloid squares Pastels shielding faces Let the sun lick every droplet off…
Something by Ed Blundell
Something Ed Blundell There is a silence in the night, A quiet deeper than a sound, A hush that screams a warning note That something evil is around. The wild wind drops, the clouds slip by, Tall frozen trees stand stiff and still. The…
Shrik by Ed Blundell
Shrik Ed Blundell A shriek of nature rends my soul, The sky a blood red, empty well, I fall through time, I spin in space, My face contorts, my body bends, Out of shape I twist and struggle, Trying to hold on to the…
Hunted by Ed Blundell
Hunted Ed Blundell The night falls slowly, dusky shroud, Dark shadows creep across the land, A stillness hangs upon the air, A silence sinister and chill, The creatures of the night appear. She waits, alone, beneath the stars, The silver eyes, cold and austere…
The Soultree by Ellie Rose McKee
The Soultree Ellie Rose McKee Her gnarled branches were a ribcage, straining toward the moonlit sky. Winter had been harsh upon the land, stripping her flesh, but the Soultree was a guardian, long established in her role. Come cold, come wind, lightning, rain of…
Shelves of Worlds (at Uncle Hugo’s Bookstore in Minneapolis) by Nick Ozment
Shelves of Worlds (at Uncle Hugo’s Bookstore in Minneapolis) Nick Ozment Every shelf is packed with imaginary destinations, the overflow nested in postal trays stacked five and six high forming new pathways, each tray numbered and indexed to a list tacked on the wall…
On My Way Here by Nick Ozment
On My Way Here Nick Ozment I saw a headless dog, a car with no driver driving, a yellow dress fluttering in the wind, a cloud of sorrow made manifest, a man who had eyes in the front and back, a woman with snakes…
O Human Hosts, What Big Teeth You Have by Nick Ozment
O Human Hosts, What Big Teeth You Have Nick Ozment We had seen it a thousand times before, played out on screens big and small: shiny saucers spewing bug-eyed aliens. We were primed for planet conquering conquistadors with death rays. When they came they…
The Bigfoot’s Lament by Bill Abbott
The Bigfoot’s Lament Bill Abbott (Cryptozoology Files) People. I’m tired of people. It’s why I live in the woods. Me. Yeah, me. In the woods. In the wilds. In the wilderness. In the bushes, in the trees. I’m trying to stay away from people….
The Jackalope’s Lament by Bill Abbott
The Jackalope’s Lament Bill Abbott (Cryptozoology Files) Joe the Jackalope stared at the clock. Louise was late again. He didn’t know why he ever gave her a second look, other than their kind was so rare. Mating during lightning flashes without hurting each other…
Nessie by Bill Abbott
Nessie Bill Abbott (Cryptozoology Files) Nessie sipped her coffee, thought about finding her way to the surface again just long enough to get a few things at the store, but the paparazzi. Oh, those blasted humans with their cameras. And the technology keeps getting…
Stan by Bill Abbott
Stan Bill Abbott (Cryptozoology Files) I made it, somehow. A few chickens here, a few goats there, and I made it. See, all you have to do is drink some blood, and they’ll love you online. I’m a serious, real mythical figure online, even…
Wendigo by Bill Abbott
Wendigo Bill Abbott (Cryptozoology Files) The hunger falls on me again, thought Fred. The desire for the meal that remains uneaten, the meat that is tainted by being one’s own. The thinness, the leanness, the real skinny, the hunger. The desire for more, for…
War Fog by Bill Abbott
War Fog Bill Abbott As the blood drained off the edges of the fields, we danced on the dead, proclaiming victory at the end of the fight between the forces of good and evil, knowing which side we were, as the winners. The explosions…
The Stories of the Woman, as Told to the Poet by the Passing Pilgrims by Bill Abbott
The Stories of the Woman, as Told to the Poet by the Passing Pilgrims Bill Abbott 1. Mastery In the evening of the last day of August, She chose to boast she was the strongest And most useful of the list of us. She…
Vernal Equinox by Bill Abbott
Vernal Equinox Bill Abbott This great fire burns through the cool evening, leaving a radiance of heat, a burning consumption of the wooden fuel we have stacked, leaving only a large pile of ash by morning, after the glow has given way to gray….
In January: A Chant Royal by Linda Ann Lo Schiavo
In January: A Chant Royal Linda Ann Lo Schiavo I It’s basic January’s thirty-one. The winter air grows bald without that touch Of holy, bold-brimmed harvests overrun. Gold apples underground have gone. So much Once sweet has turned acidic, black, or bare. Honed branches…
What’s in the Shadows by Linda Ann Lo Schiavo
What’s in the Shadows Linda Ann Lo Schiavo The shadow spirits roam when darkness falls. They’ll lead a drowsy, sly cotillion, fly Through secret gardens gathering masked blooms Like belladonna, foxglove, or bloodroot. Each time you jerk awake, they’re visiting, Dripping moist jewels of…
The Galilean Moons by Linda Ann Lo Schiavo
The Galilean Moons Linda Ann Lo Schiavo (inspired by Alla Luna, a poem by Giacomo Leopardi) The Galilean moons came visiting. Here’s Io, Ganymede, Europa with Callisto, cloaked in light, a splendid sight. My failures tied me to life’s dimmer side. Divine they looked,…
Cupid and Psyche by Linda Ann LoSchiavo
Cupid and Psyche LindaAnn LoSchiavo The lover’s prize is friction —— Cupid knows —— As sex re-models the interior, Begins to dangerously mural a mind. Young Psyche pocketed virginity, Kept innocence like an extra…
Third Planet from Nowhere by David C Kopaska-Merkel
Third Planet from Nowhere David C Kopaska-Merkel The water bill’s through the roof The local pawnshop won’t take Ultrapure gold anymore FBI and IRS have both been by (Thank Tech for the Memory-Erasing Ray!) The basement lab uses SO MUCH water Even 90% effluent…
π by John C. Mannone
π John C. Mannone 3.141592… is transcendental and that doesn’t mean spiritual here, but yes, quite irrational and infinitely nonrepeating at least to 31.4 trillion digits in this mundane dimension. But in that universe full of haunts and haints, they ain’t staying put. They…
Various Haiku by John C. Mannone
Various Haiku John C. Mannone one small step for man first to the moon then beyond stairway to heaven ———————— Nuclear winter No sun in sight We glow in the dark ————————- Mountains & Seas mountains scribe sky sunset paints the tips praise etched…
Remains at an Archeological Site by John C. Mannone
Remains at an Archeological Site John C. Mannone Uncovered skull, disheveled bones, knuckles of the right hand curled around ivory (handle of a dagger), pelvis of a woman, ribcage busted close to the where the heart had been. The way the bones broke and…
House of the Rising Sun by John C. Mannone
House of the Rising Sun John C. Mannone The shot glass shatters in his hand as he slams it on the bar. His callous hand doesn’t stop the blood. And the bartender says something wrong. The drunk says he’s not a sociopath, just a…
Bewitching Words by John C. Mannone
Bewitching Words John C. Mannone I found a poem in a coven of words hiding in enchanted inculcations of a psalm but it morphed as if a spell had been cast so they flew away t•h•i•r•t•e•e•n b•l•a•c•k letters fluttering as birds
A New Way to Fight a World War, 2525 C.E. by John C. Mannone
A New Way to Fight a World War, 2525 C.E. John C. Mannone Score Board: Western Conference, 700 million down Eastern Conference, 1.2 billion down Opposing teams face off on the line of scrimmage, reminiscent of ancient football and gladiator games but without flesh…
cyberjinn by Logan Thrasher Collins
cyberjinn Logan Thrasher Collins my soul looks out of a raven’s eyes before i leap from that raven’s brain and into a squidlike avatar who lives in the virtual world then i cartwheel cross cyberspace under skies of melon-orange laced with raspberry pink before…
Gorgeous Geometries by Logan Thrasher Collins
Gorgeous Geometries Logan Thrasher Collins tonight you’re breathing snowflakes in Reykjavik watching the Milky Way and as you take a deep breath past, present, and future blur together a spatiotemporal crystal stars explode and galaxies collide but beneath the interstellar chaos there’s morphogenesis embryonic…
Neuva Shikaga by Logan Thrasher Collins
Neuva Shikaga Logan Thrasher Collins the simulated metropolis Neuva Shikaga passes planet Saturn on a spherical substrate no larger than a peach the lost city Neuva Shikaga is encrypted with an uncomputable lock making the souls within irretrievable i’ve often wondered if my ghost…
Leviathan by David Barber
Leviathan David Barber Out of nowhere. Surfacing with a surge and suck of gravity that made the Earth flex in torment. No time to explain. It raced the wavefront of catastrophe, but sniffing a waterworld and with true sentience so precious, it snatched at…
Area 51 by David Barber
Area 51 David Barber Even with the device turned off and tombed in concrete, we are still haunted by ghosts of histories that are not our own, remembering cosmonauts fêted through New York in blizzards of ticker-tape; or the launching of Apollo 20 on…
In the Future, Maury Povich is In Charge by David Schwab
In the Future, Maury Povich is In Charge David Schwab …and so he asks: “How many bastards born today?” “Twenty-three per second, sir”. The host hung his head. …
Fear, Fear not by Russell Hemmell
Fear, Fear not Russell Hemmell Horror stories are not to be feared because they only tell what can be made up not what’s lurking behind the scenes. Be afraid of the legend maker, instead of the dark that lives inside in the places where…
1348 by Russell Hemmell
1348 Russell Hemmell He arrived on Sunday, after a winter of sleep and snow. A jester with clear blue eyes, pale lithe hands and white flowers in them. He smiled and said, I come in peace. I ply my trade with buffooneries and riddles,…
Mussie by Richard Stevenson
Mussie Richard Stevenson Hi, I’m Mussie of Muskrat Lake. Pleased to make yer acquaintance. Some say I’ve got three eyes; some think I’m a lake-bound walrus, for heaven’s sake! For the record, I’ve got two peeps, same as you. Ain’t no plesiosaur land-locked since…
The Gugwe by Richard Stevenson
The Gugwe Richard Stevenson Next time you get the notion of filling a water bottle and prepping a tent, backpack, and sleeping bag for a camp-out in the deep, dark woods, think again! Unless you’ve got a forty-four magnum pistol or side cannon of…
Clahuchu and Bride by Richard Stevenson
Clahuchu and Bride Richard Stevenson Last of the Juju tribe of Devil Men, Clahuchu and bride lay side by side in the coffin dug up from their Haitian grave. Mummies most mum about their circumstances, they nevertheless manage to exude evil it seems. Anyone…
An Argentine Alien by Richard Stevenson
An Argentine Alien Richard Stevenson An Argentine alien has rustled the bushes and stepped into view. He’s not like me or you. He’s but four foot two – kinda green, maybe blue. I’m so outta here, whatever this thing is that ain’t exactly clear….
Riding the Tiger by Bryan Thao Worra
Riding the Tiger Bryan Thao Worra Burying my wars, these memories of you: “It don’t mean nothing,” wondering who Will stop the rain and who knows the way back To San Jose, ten thousand places you left your hearts. What a song for all…
Moving Mountains, Burning Stars by Bryan Thao Worra
Moving Mountains, Burning Stars Bryan Thao Worra In Germany, the Krupps Bagger-288 Was forged to kill mountains, Towering 96 meters and 13,500 tons, Indifferent to poetic subtlety. This isn’t the work of surgeons, Cutting to a mountain’s coal heart, Maybe an ancient vein of…
Screaming From My Throne of Stars by Bryan Thao Worra
Screaming From My Throne of Stars Bryan Thao Worra Were we wise, we’d have slain that orange arhat On the spot 39 bygone millennia when he “blessed” our house To reach every star we saw that bright august night. What karmic weight we since…
Tikbalang by Vince Gotera
Tikbalang Vince Gotera switched-up Centaur stalks evening, brown baton like stone horse head, hooves silent In Philippine mythology, the tikbalang is a hybrid creature with a horse’s head and hooves on a human body—or humanoid, since he has limbs proportionately longer than a…
Eclipse by Vince Gotera
Eclipse Vince Gotera dread Bakunawa dragon breaches from ocean swallows bright full moon This haiku is based on Philippine mythology. The bakunawa is a sea dragon that hankered to eat the seven moons that were in our ancient sky. He ate six of…
Venus by Vince Gotera
Venus Vince Gotera brilliant arrow point hunter goddess’s flexed bow the moon’s silver arc
Cthulhu by Vince Gotera
Cthulhu Vince Gotera tender tentacles touch us from eldritch space cold Messiah’s green love
Frankenstein by Vince Gotera
Frankenstein (1931) Vince Gotera Boris Karloff’s hands tremble like soft wings lovebirds in air sweet music
Prince Charming by Vince Gotera
Prince Charming Vince Gotera With quotes from Ann Sexton’s poem “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” Well, yeah, that’s what they call me …
Aubade by Vince Gotera
Aubade Vince Gotera —a terza rima haiku sonnet Steve grinned, waking up to see Stephanie’s cute face, freckled, soft pink lips parted slightly, lace lingerie showing pale throat. Spring morning sun’s rays streaming in to…
The Makings of Dragons by Herb Kauderer
The Makings of Dragons Herb Kauderer At first, dragons were rare monsters conjured by wizards who spent long months slowly simmering essences with which to imbue their creations. Emerald, ruby, copper, gold, diamond, and more were used as dragon’s essence. And, as wizards included…
Symbols, Numbers, Distances by Herb Kauderer
Symbols, Numbers, Distances (Scifaiku) Herb Kauderer nightlights nerve-wracking blackout strange sky lights above city Milky Way shimmers outdated Freudian theories atrophy when a rocket is just a rocket post-wildlife a wildlife refuge gathered children gape in awe in the box, a mouse Tippler’s…
The Gate by Frank Coffman
The Gate Frank Coffman Within this weird, eerie woodland deep and dark, Is a Gate that opens unto realms of Horror, A strange doorway whence—should thou choose to embark— Thou shalt find a place of Terrors ne’er dreamt before. At first, only the fog!…
If But They Could by Frank Coffman
If But They Could (a Cynaraelle Sonnet*—invented form) Frank Coffman The full moon glides above the horror forest glade. Stark, gnarled, and dark, the trees’ bare branches creak. The hunter, listening, knows a werewolf has been made— And, somewhere in those trees, the sometimes-man…
Far Beyond Home by Charles A. Gramlich
Far Beyond Home Charles A. Gramlich The eye fills with black that speaks oblivion. The sun is a reckless thought, or perhaps some exotic dream. Has there ever been light, except that which you carry with you? Has there ever been a whole world…
Kissed by Charles A. Gramlich
Kissed Charles A. Gramlich In the dry wend of a lost river, sotted with visions, I lie peyote-kissed. This world is bejeweled, texture rich, full of strange harmonics. A congress of cacti filibuster the owls. Siroccos play a threnody with dust and skulls. I…
They Burn by Charles A. Gramlich
They Burn Charles A. Gramlich In the lives of stars, thoughts are forever, never in a hurry. Time is constant luxury. In the measure of planets who only fear the sun, life is a great waltz, slow and majestic. In the world of mountains,…
Peel by Charles A. Gramlich
Peel Charles A. Gramlich Peel back the hollow and reveal the core. Show the wounded heart behind the savaged ribs. Let the shudder of angels pass through you. Let it sing like dark gods born out of stone. You will walk through the burn….
Offerings by Charles A. Gramlich
Offerings Charles A. Gramlich Beneath a locust sun, where memories stab like the fingernails of a harlequin witch… he offers his hand to the crimson lips… that shine in his eyes, the bloom whose petals rest on his tongue in a sacrament of need….
A Time to Shrink by Herb Kauderer
A Time to Shrink Herb Kauderer The humans named her Inner Bigness, but she was just a lab rat. Maybe it was the name that set her apart, or maybe the humans recognized something special. It took a matter of only a few months…
Rust Dragon by Herb Kauderer
Rust Dragon Herb Kauderer He lives in the swamps far from the metal users and the mountains they mine for ore. What humans consider lasting tools and weapons are limp and weathered reeds in his decaying grasp. Here among the ever-rotting trees and weeds…
sometimes unobserved is just the same by Herb Kauderer
sometimes unobserved is just the same Herb Kauderer the travels of the daytime moon are overwhelmed by sol’s light and so those travels get none of the publicity of Luna’s nighttime journeys but still she bides her time & goes her way happily secure…
unmanned exploration by Herb Kauderer
unmanned exploration Herb Kauderer wire capillaries call plasteel heart new heat grows in aluminum breast photo sensors flicker detecting morning light lubricants circulate to grinding servos unsteady movements greet foreign dawn while startled morning birds flutter off and sail to roost on someone new
commuter by Herb Kauderer
commuter Herb Kauderer a twelve ton ship from Rigel lands & slowly disassembles into a cart full of wheelie luggage & one small man who likes to be prepared for any event
Black Demon Shark by Richard Stevenson
Black Demon Shark Richard Stevenson Melanized great white shark or sixty-foot megalodon spied just off the coast of the Baja, California, peninsula? Who knows? He’s got a huge threshing tail though and concentric rows of nasty teeth. Not the sort of denizen you wanna…
Mugwump by Richard Stevenson
Mugwump Richard Stevenson Lake Temiskaming, Ontario, is my home. Don’t often surface, so you may not know me. “Old Tessie” is one handle, but Mugwump?! Really?! That’s such an insulting moniker. Makes me feel like I don’t even swim, just hang my head and…
Skinwalker Ranch by Richard Stevenson
Skinwalker Ranch Richard Stevenson Skinwalker Ranch ain’t on no maps – at least the parts yer interested in: the hellmouth portals, astral wormholes. After you’ve been there though, you’ll know: the solution to the sasquatch/dogman quandary ain’t all material. Hey, don’t soil yer laundry….
A Voyage to the Moon by David C. Kopaska-Merkel
A Voyage to the Moon David C. Kopaska-Merkel The open window welcomes the night: a cornucopia of urgency, noises sharp and subtle, night’s warm breath framed by southern oak. I read now by moonlight, alone, ensconced in the window seat, the pages brimming with…
Atopic Catastrophic by Kathleen A. Lawrence
Atopic Catastrophic Kathleen A. Lawrence Countdown. The stars were beating, pulsating, bleeding Whole constellations ragged, hemorrhaging Coughing, spitting, writhing with penetrating Pain and growing fear of planets divorcing. As greedy pirates of celestial skies attacked Marauding with fury, invading hemispheres Forcing rings to spiral…
Brunch, Spaceship Side by Kathleen A. Lawrence
Brunch, Spaceship Side Kathleen A. Lawrence Bounding across the rocky terrain with low gravity weight on Aster it was an exhilarating jaunt out for breakfast morsels hidden behind griege craters and dunes. Silver space boots with lights, and puffy suit were de rigueur under…
Things That Go Bump & Smile In The Night by Kathleen A. Lawrence
Things That Go Bump & Smile In The Night Kathleen A. Lawrence When I wasn’t tall enough for the roller coaster every night I pretended to be sleeping in the bottom bunk closing my eyes tight until my siblings snored in chorus then I…
The Conjunction: Jupiter Pursues Venus by Kathleen A. Lawrence
The Conjunction: Jupiter Pursues Venus Kathleen A. Lawrence “Meet me on the other side of the moon,” Jupiter gestured. Soft and deliberate, shy Venus stretched out for her love with unfurling desire. Shining brightly together, their orbits breathing in rhythm, the planets paused before…
Land Sharks by David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Land Sharks David C. Kopaska-Merkel A second chance crawling out of the sea , Bewildered by what they found, And didn’t find, But lobe-finned sharks quickly got a handle On the whole terrestrial thing, They diversified, filled empty niches , Eventually a few began…
Science Fiction Poetry by Deborah P Kolodji
Science Fiction Poetry Deborah P Kolodji starburst patterns under the ice caps spring on Mars ===================== ten years in space the dish garden in my cabin ===================== no coat this December winter time travel ===================== the lightest I’ve been figure skating on Europa =====================…
rogue planet by Herb Kauderer
rogue planet Herb Kauderer lost between stars you float along hardly noticed except in those precarious moments when needed as a stepping stone ignoring such rare & fickle company you continue to roam slowly walking a racing universe unfulfilled but also unburdened
Last Stand on Privacy by Herb Kauderer
Last Stand on Privacy Herb Kauderer I got tired of every level of government legislating sex as if ANYONE could actually control what people do together (or alone) in their bedrooms. That’s why I moved my bed into my bathroom. It’s the only place…
the poem dreams by Herb Kauderer
the poem dreams Herb Kauderer the poem dreams of going beyond to the next state of love and connection but words cannot capture magic cannot conjure moonlight or mist on the lake but perhaps those are not necessary for those are only catalysts for…
A Room on Mars by Herb Kauderer
A Room on Mars Herb Kauderer Age and radiation tell Clarkson it’s time to retire but after decades working the asteroid belt he has no interest in landing on Earth where the great outdoors is tiny compared to all of outer space and people…
A Siren for the Modern Times by Armand J. Azamar
A Siren for the Modern Times Armand J. Azamar Hearing her song again Appears near hopeless. After the shipwreck, Her voice, I still struggle to defend. My hospital bed A depression I discovered for myself. The longing only spreads; wider and deeper. A deep…
Temporal Loop by Armand J. Azamar
Temporal Loop Armand J. Azamar Failing. The cycle repeats yet again. The failure clutches, The circumference of my mind. Will my device change the times? The clock brings no assurance. Will a flicker of newness finally exist? The seconds hobble and limp. The shining…
The Expedition by Armand J. Azamar
The Expedition Armand J. Azamar Treading cautiously, A plateau of cold and crimson dunes. The dust storms offer songs of courage Feet and mind persist onward, For another leap for mankind.
The Messenger God by Armand J. Azamar
The Messenger God Armand J. Azamar Where the heat of the Sun beats down, Where the craters remain razed of hope, We tread the lonely cliffs still, With no hope of a welcoming committee. Where no wind blows and the morning blinds.
Satellite of Sand by Armand J. Azamar
Satellite of Sand Armand J. Azamar A desert of forbidding cacti and suns, A smoking, old starship behind me, A Northern oasis of far, far before me. Confidence wavers and heat oppresses As the skeletons of sand-worms mock me.
Unstole It by Jim Davies
Unstole It Jim Davies On an old Baroque pillow drops an odd, cold blood of a dead god. Somebody touched broke in the hold, with the original key, and stole it. Breathing on it makes falling raindrop things. Smelling it allows you…
Blue Flowers by John C. Mannone
Blue Flowers John C. Mannone . After ‘Rapunzel’ An old witch desired the young virgins; they could stop the withering of time with their hair full of elixir oil. A crooked smile writhed on her wrinkled face; her eyes gleamed when she came to…
Bubonic by John C. Mannone
Bubonic: It was much too wet John C. Mannone When glaciers melt, the Arctic sea will rise, push south, edging the warm currents. Cirrus-clouded air will follow the new jet stream. Rain will fall in torrential heat unto land that had only known ice…
The Photograph by John C. Mannone
The Photograph John C. Mannone The fireplace embers a warmth into the room, coals glow dull red, cold air lifts its bitter edge. I see you on our favorite sofa, the one with paisley cones, feathered cushions. You in silk, provocative, sheer lavender clinging…
Giant Hogweed by John C. Mannone
Giant Hogweed John C. Mannone Their evolution: like caustic words, the burning lye coursing through their green veins, furanocoumarins in their sap-stem stained purple, warted like sin branching out to all the world, white lacy umbels reaching to sun to soak sarcastic light slaked…
The River of Stars by Kendall Evans
The River of Stars by Kendall Evans Shall we not depart The Courts of the Moon Abandon the Chambers of Nautilus? Follow these tracks to Old Phobos Station— Let your shuttles recline at Asteroid Oasis Preparing at last for Jupiter Transit Tomorrow we sail…
Reality’s Weave by Kendall Evans
Reality’s Weave by Kendall Evans She handed me Reality’s weave All tangled up Worse than a Gordian knot And I thought: Do the Fates Really expect me To unravel this? From infras to ultras A disordered rainbow Of colorful threads Extending to infinity Some…
Flight of the Dragon by Kendall Evans
Flight of the Dragon by Kendall Evans The Dragon soars Above the world Over the hilltops Seeking prey in meadows and valleys Hungering for goats, calves, pigs, sheep In villages far below The Dragon flies high Over white-iced mountain ridges Plunging down toward Lantern-lit…
His Master’s Voice by Kendall Evans
His Master’s Voice by Kendall Evans Listen to His Master’s Voice Fire up the old Victrola Interpret all these messages From the cosmos’ past Encrypted in Al Jolson songs And Rudy Vallee’s crooning
Third Floor Bookstore by Herb Kauderer
Third Floor Bookstore Herb Kauderer I stood in the warm colored neon watching dusk turn black, waiting for the Dreamer’s Mall to open is lying beneath endless layers of blankets waiting in the early morning for the winter sun to rise. When at last…
Intended Purpose by Herb Kauderer
Intended Purpose Herb Kauderer I am a highly evolved machine programmed to look at the night sky. Eye, brain, arm enable starlight transmutation send it passing through my pen black ink on page recreating white light in a reader’s mind.
Swallowing It All Whole by Kendall Evans and David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Swallowing It All Whole Kendall Evans and David C. Kopaska-Merkel These are the longitudes and latitudes On the split/curved landscape separating fact from fiction. Beyond these easy curves—who can say? Here, expressed like a Monopoly board, A map of realms demarcating the boundary between…
Bring Me Moa by David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Bring Me Moa David C. Kopaska-Merkel Look at it 12 feet tall quarter of a ton that’s a gol durn dinosaur why did it take Cretaceous feathers for us to see? Ponderous tread Earth shook when those giant 3-toed feet struck the ground. Bring…
Selected Scifaiku by Richard H. Fay
wander the ether drift past strange and frightful beasts bodiless journey ray gun destruction end of civilization alien conquest clash of tempered steel armoured gladiators meet robotic war games gothic armour mainspring powers pulleys clockwork knight green chitinous domes buzzing atop purple trees insectoid…
For in that Sleep, What Nightmares… by Lauren McBride
For in that Sleep, What Nightmares… Lauren McBride While comatose to travel space, Please someone check my pulse, my face and if you see a silent scream while I lie trapped within a dream, then wake me from this hell replayed. Don’t keep me…
Shades of Brown by Lauren McBride
Shades of Brown Lauren McBride I try to remember the colors of Earth: blue sky arching overhead, white clouds floating, green growth in abundance, riot of red and orange at sunset and autumn, palette of pastels come spring. But all turns ghostly here in…
Engagement: Set in Stone by Lauren McBride
Engagement: Set in Stone Lauren McBride He once romanced me with a candlelit dinner and stroll under three alien moons where the nights last thirty hours. We saw others from our world and many races new to us. For our one-year-together anniversary, he suggested…
The Glass Jar Present by Don Webb
The Glass Jar Present Don Webb Everything we perceive comes to us from the past. Everything we do goes into the future. — proverb Fil, grandson of Filip, grandson of Phillip, discovers a large glass jar in the side of a mound. It will…
stranded observatory by Herb Kauderer
stranded observatory Herb Kauderer the cylinder spins green grey bathing in starlight dining on icerocks skating on radiation on one side a light dies awaiting too long an errant spark a mutation of fuel side effect of cosmic rays a renewal of heat to…
new realities by Herb Kauderer
new realities Herb Kauderer in the core of an L-5 habitat a group gathers to share fanfare inside a sensor glove a hand squeezes & somewhere tachyons respond another hand strums air the room is filled with guitar chords the band plays without strings…
career change by Herb Kauderer
career change Herb Kauderer settled dust on scattered pieces of the remains of an environment suit turn the criminal investigator into an archeologist who picks from debris the stripped bones of a unique civilization seeking how this culture of one died out
Last Gleaming by Herb Kauderer
Last Gleaming Herb Kauderer Blue green fields of man background the gleaming hammer of Spacelane Robber Barons who keep striking at the heart of the cosmic retailing center. Economies of distant dying planets exhausting raw materials emit last gasps that blur the echo of…
failed diplomacy by Herb Kauderer
failed diplomacy Herb Kauderer at the foot of the lander’s ladder the creature lurks not really orange in this light, more tan & white with jagged edged ears and right fang shining over dropped lip the triangle jaw gives up tufts of the local…
Dionysus by Andrea Laws
Dionysus Andrea Laws serpents no longer crown his horns his limbs… torn to burn and stir giving birth to pomegranates for mortal blood drunk and sober realities accompanied with weapons of vines and ivy, shackle the cursed witnesses of his transformations…
Subliminal Sonnet by Robert Shmigelsky
Subliminal Sonnet Robert Shmigelsky This haiku a subliminal sonnet
Night Train by John C. Mannone
Night Train John c. Mannone Clouds paled yellow—a lutescence of insect wings— before the swarm of wind shook the sky. The weather radio crackled, hissed its tornado warning while sunlight waned behind the thickening darkness. Only a moment ago, the quiet Midwest air didn’t…
Occupant by Denny E. Marshall
Occupant Denny E. Marshall Large crowds gather as the UFO lands Edge of the runway lined with red carpets Roars of applause as the gathered clap hands Select soldiers play welcoming trumpets Officials and officers wait by ship After the spacecraft makes contact with…
Breaking News (Version #1) by Denny E. Marshall
Breaking News (Version #1) Denny E. Marshall Heard sirens continually blow Breaking news interrupts the show Horns sounding not a tornado First landing of a UFO Anchor’s voice echoing with fear Stating, the facts are still not clear Announcement on the radio First landing…
At The Stars by Denny E. Marshall
At The Stars Denny E. Marshall Lying on your back looking at the stars Watching the rotations dance late at night Like millions of fireflies stored in jars. Lying on your back looking at the stars Glow of galaxies, suns, Venus, and Mars. Longing…
S Mail Received by Denny E. Marshall
S Mail Received Denny E. Marshall Moving toward the proto-stars View dust rings stringing like guitars Journey onward day after day Destination the Milky Way Passing along cloud nebula Competing with cluster gala Take in sights from the cargo bay Destination the Milky Way…
A Little Early by Denny E. Marshall
A Little Early Denny E. Marshall Ship makes entry into the atmosphere All are relieved destination is near Landing site on planets north hemisphere Soon the globes surface features become clear Once they land, first run test and check the air Some team members…
The Unexplained by Denny E. Marshall
The Unexplained Denny E. Marshall Whispers of lore and legends Crept upon the sill Shadows pretend to sleep Synchronize to keep still Movement like a phantom Race unseen across the hill Swirling clouds of unknown Pools of mysteries fill Sentinels of all secrets Keys…
Search Party by Denny E. Marshall
Search Party Denny E. Marshall After a long voyage Aliens finally arrive To rescue their friends The search starts In the desert Soon all are arrested Back at the ship The remaining crew Tries to figure out What Area 51 means 1st Published in…
Spiral Arms Sky by Denny E. Marshall
Spiral Arms Sky Denny E. Marshall Border of spiral galaxy Mountain asteroid city shines Tall ice castle’s close together Surface cover of cold light snow A slight lean towards heavy side Slow spin rotates towns and shadows From balcony long arms reach out From…
Ode To Amanda by Denny E. Marshall
Ode To Amanda Denny E. Marshall She emerged winged-foot from the sky Like an angel in Apollo’s shadow Fathers from the heavens fingers Announce with thunderbolts and lightning Messages drift above to form shapes In different layers of colored clouds Lands on a mountain…
Four Haiku by Denny E. Marshall
Four Haiku Denny E. Marshall Earth astronauts land On globe, surface all water One wooden ship Alternative world Meet current secretary Of state flower As a child I thought One-day bicycles will fly As adult still dream Mineshaft collapses Stuck deep…
Time Shift 28 by Denny E. Marshall
Time Shift 28 Denny E. Marshall Woke up from a sleep In a landscape of the past Surrounded in vegetation With an ancient glow Look down at new tracks In the shape of a circle Thought they were a strangers Turn out to be…
Escape From Area 51 by Denny E. Marshall
Escape From Area 51 Denny E. Marshall Prisoner alien is on the run Creature escapes Area 51 Frequent bullets buzz by head from a gun Prisoner alien is on the run Soon it will be dark sees the setting sun Still does not understand…
The Universe Electric by Denny E. Marshall
The Universe Electric Denny E. Marshall Moment the big bang blew apart Cosmos formed a beating heart Creations hand historic The universe electric Eyes shine like a million stars Skin marked and aged with deep scars In invisible fabric The universe electric Legs and…
Etiquette for the Postmodern World by A. K. Drees
Etiquette for the Postmodern World A. K. Drees My goat merman has eyes like coin slits in golden spheres, beard matted with spit and flecks of grass— after the withers, the pelt slicks into curved plates, shimmering down to a cloven tail. His teeth…
Leather Dragon by Herb Kauderer
Leather Dragon Herb Kauderer Conjured of scales and hides from creatures long since dead he is never completely alive or completely himself. The longings and desires of those whose skin he wears flicker like an uncovered candle through his brain. When he is not…
fruit of imperfection by Herb Kauderer
fruit of imperfection Herb Kauderer imperfect clone grows different from sibs mutated gene shows shame
recognition error by Herb Kauderer
recognition error Herb Kauderer cave explorers wade strange dark puddles not seeing monster drool
Computer Vows by Herb Kauderer
Computer Vows Herb Kauderer I love you like the highest prime the finest number that has ever dwelt within me I need you like the caressing hand that plays across my keyboards silently pressing contacts faster than words could be voiced You are the…
Soft Scientist by Herb Kauderer
Soft Scientist Herb Kauderer The psychologist scours every fragment of foreign life seeking some flame to call sentience. Like some overeager foster parent she searches for a resemblance, not meant to be, looking to make this lush golden world a part of her family….
What’s Been Left Behind by Herb Kauderer
What’s Been Left Behind Herb Kauderer The hydroponics deck is as close to home as I can find. I sit there and try to remember what cloud what dream what angel told me to reach for the sky. That distant star cannot be the…
Leather Dragon by Herb Kauderer
Leather Dragon Herb Kauderer Conjured of scales and hides from creatures long since dead he is never completely alive or completely himself. The longings and desires of those whose skin he wears flicker like an uncovered candle through his brain. When he is not…
The River of Stars By Kendall Evans
The River of Stars By Kendall Evans Shall we not depart The Courts of the Moon Abandon the Chambers of Nautilus? Follow these tracks to Old Phobos Station— Let your shuttles recline at Asteroid Oasis Preparing at last for Jupiter Transit Tomorrow we sail…
Star Greeting by Wendy S. Delmater
Star Greeting Wendy S. Demater The elven constellations are cataloged by scholars Some are named for objects—the Plow and the Bear. Some are named for historical figures, Commemorating this elven scholar, that artisan, a well-loved king. All are elves gone on to the halls…
Looking Back to the Stars by Vince Gotera
Looking Back to the Stars Vince Gotera —hay(na)ku My child’s eyes adored starships, SF, anything space-oriented: Mercury, Gemini, Apollo. 1969: Neil Armstrong’s astounding moon landing. Barsoom novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Superman. Flash Gordon. 2001: Space Odyssey. Comics utopias, dystopias: Magnus, Robot Fighter, Thor’s…
Dear Mr. Frost, or may I call you Jack . . . by Vince Gotera
Dear Mr. Frost, or may I call you Jack . . . Vince Gotera —after a particularly mild winter Where’ve you been hiding these past few months? I only had to fire up the snow blower once. It coughed miserably, neglected and forlorn, before turning over…
Sestina: Dragon by Vince Gotera
Sestina: Dragon Vince Gotera What could be more optimal for a dragon sestina than using the word “dragon” as an end word? All six end words could be “dragon,” in fact. That way there wouldn’t be any drag in having to sort out when…
National Security by Herb Kauderer
National Security Herb Kauderer state secrets vanish as new mind cleansing process redacts employee brains first published in The Detective’s Ghost & Other Little Mysteries
Joyriding by Herb Kauderer
Joyriding Herb Kauderer teenaged rebels hotwire unprovisioned spaceship miss lunch, surrender in time for dinner first published in The Detective’s Ghost & Other Little Mysteries
Mutant Driving School by Robert Shmigelsky
Mutant Driving School Robert Shmigelsky mutant driving school learning to keep all hands on steering wheel
Toasting Progress by John Reinhart
Toasting Progress John Reinhart Squeamish about testing on animals, leery of testing on myself, I grabbed the next best thing: a toaster, something I wouldn’t miss from the shelf. Squeamish about testing, my teleportation experimenting, I reached for the button and pressed – I…
Cooking with Extinction by John Reinhart
Cooking with Extinction John Reinhart Thoughtscapes of undulating brontosauri meander over the kitchen counter while we prepare our breakfast. A mastodon lounges near the toaster, absorbing a little of the extra warmth. A pterodactyl scratches at a faint memory from last night, never bringing…
voyage stranded by John Reinhart
voyage stranded John Reinhart spaceship broken spoken spellings texting homeward hopeful magic sandhills castles building telling message blankly blinking tragic captain spoken motions lighten heavy demons dreaming sadly spaceship flounders never brightens cloudy climate planet gladly texture tincture foreign fracture matter science healthy civil…
far from worship by Herb Kauderer
far from worship Herb Kauderer feathered serpent mired in steam rising from lush wet forest spined ferns reach twenty feet into sky daring you to land & vines clutch like the many handed tribes pull at you like ghosts of long murdered ancestors float,…
Djinn by Herb Kauderer
Djinn Herb Kauderer Control box of mystic switches unexplained lights wishful dials what sweet caress will fire your passion? What strange whispers will turn your head? I am your shepherd through the long journey between stars and when you finally wake from ancient slumber…
Stonehenge by Herb Kauderer
Stonehenge Herb Kauderer Phenomenon: An unaccountable occurrence. It was cold and sunny at Stonehenge. Herded 100 feet away by rope-bound rubber paths we shuffled with the crowd while clouds moved in and covered the sun. Rain spattered stones and wet the green lichen that…
Through the Ages by Herb Kauderer
Through the Ages Herb Kauderer The Pythia at Delphi observed in passing that poets touch people with their words but do so without understanding what those words mean. The poets do not understand the people either, yet their touch means so much that people seek…
Dryad by Herb Kauderer
Dryad Herb Kauderer tree limbs wildly flail human eyes are distracted wood nymph sneaks away First appeared in 50 Haikus #9 March 2016
Marbles by John C. Mannone
Marbles John C. Mannone My solar system is a mobile of marbles circling the sun. But not any simple sun like all the others bending space and time. Here, space-time warps right back. Each time the red dwarf flares, light loops into another dimension,…
Happy Hour at Drake’s Lounge by John C. Mannone
Happy Hour at Drake’s Lounge John C. Mannone
Waterworld by John C. Mannone
Waterworld John C. Mannone We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. —T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets Twilight air, thin. Sun, setting…
Phlegethon by Herb Kauderer
Phlegethon Herb Kauderer see the reflection framed in tendrils of flame and leaves of smoke then pass through the forge of Hephaestus if you can first appeared in Calliope Jan/Feb 1992
Lethe by Herb Kauderer
Lethe Herb Kauderer kneel at the banks by the ford and peer into the soft wrinkled brown-green blanket watch it undulate in random patterns calling in a voice that soaks up sound birdcall & leaf flame & wood absorbed & reformed into gently urging…
Cocytus by Herb Kauderer
Cocytus Herb Kauderer the waters reach down your throat and pull the cry of the deserted the wail of the deserter the scream that empties the soul and when every thread of emotion has snapped you may pass first appeared in Tiamat #5 June/July…
Acheron by Herb Kauderer
Acheron Herb Kauderer cry your tears into the river let your sorrows flow until this tributary owns the salty tang of ocean and you can share its endless thirsting need first appeared in Sozoryoku #8 Dec 1992
Night Shivers by Herb Kauderer
Night Shivers Herb Kauderer Herodotus said “We can never stand in the same river twice because the water of life is always moving.” that’s why ghosts are cold. Ghosts freeze life chain the past around the ankle of the future an iceberg anchor. &…
Reality’s Weave by Kendall Evans
Reality’s Weave Kendall Evans She handed me Reality’s Weave All tangled up A Gordian Knot And I thought: Do the fates Really expect me To unravel this? From infras to ultras A disordered rainbow Of colorful threads Extending to infinity Some of the strands…
The Theft of Yesterday’s Lover by Herb Kauderer
The Theft of Yesterday’s Lover Herb Kauderer I was happy living in the past. The lover I could remember yesterday is gone now, destroyed by your certainty and your brain-tinkering machine. Was it so wrong for me to turn away from the prescribed obsession…
profiling the unknown by Herb Kauderer
profiling the unknown Herb Kauderer creature of no identifiable species relegated to genus Monster regardless of intentions
zombie existence by Herb Kauderer
zombie existence Herb Kauderer embedded in flesh hologram verifies self pays all bills monthly presents illusion of life long after the heart has stopped
Styx by Herb Kauderer
Styx Herb Kauderer and so the gods call upon you as one by one they drink your name to seal divine contract with no pity for your station nor tear to feed your vigilance they know you feed upon yourself to heal their lies…
duration of the crossing by Herb Kauderer
duration of the crossing Herb Kauderer every renewal of faith in love & romance is paler a white marble gravestone to innocence a glowing personal Charon guiding us each across our own River Styx a river that flows with the melted bodies of fears…
Out of Hades by Herb Kauderer
Out of Hades Herb Kauderer Persephone’s cat counts the days to equinox coolness of summer. first appeared in Stinkwaves Oct 2016
keeping company by Herb Kauderer
keeping company Herb Kauderer kokopelli figurine dances when you’re not looking rehearses flute songs while you’re vacuuming hides keys when you try to leave
bug in the system by Herb Kauderer
bug in the system Herb Kauderer driverless car moves partiers to unscheduled & barren destination with no chance of return or recovery
Two Wrongs by Herb Kauderer
Two Wrongs Herb Kauderer Tyrannical giant-brained aliens broadcast demands for obeisance. Underground resistance feverishly builds an evil robot to disagree.
Scylla by Herb Kauderer
Scylla Herb Kauderer You did nothing but refuse the advances of Glaucus who held Circe’s eye. You were blamed anyway. As a sea nymph you must have expected it. Nymphs are always blamed by those who don’t know better & often by those who…
Priestess’ Nightmare by Herb Kauderer
Priestess’ Nightmare Herb Kauderer Asleep in her private grove the high priestess dreams: Gods & goddesses assemble to hear her rightful requests. But as she speaks they reach out & change her stretching and molding until she stands frozen into some bizarre statue. Unable…
Basilisk by Herb Kauderer
Basilisk Herb Kauderer there is no sweeter feel than hard rough rocks scraping your belly as you slowly drag yourself into some hidden crevice these humid, dark days are best for hunting farther from water prey can be lulled into a security that seems…
Depth Perception by Herb Kauderer
Depth Perception Herb Kauderer One-eyed Polyphemus stands, towering over men and stares into the distant seas at bright striped sails & pounding drums. He longs to leave his island home but has no idea how far away the shore. first appeared…
Satyr Insane by Herb Kauderer
Satyr Insane Herb Kauderer Kar-chon sits anchored in the stream of soulless & damned that rages through the underworld. Crowds push at his rocky mount surging blindly sometimes even shaking the stones he stoically rests upon. Stationed, he grinds his hooves…
Medusa by Herb Kauderer
Medusa Herb Kauderer Late at night she lies awake dreaming of her beautiful blind lover. She can see his face through closed eyes & imagines the sweet feel of his embrace. She pretends the caresses she feels are not her own…
Space Efficient by Herb Kauderer
Space Efficient Herb Kauderer The legends of outer space call the void empty and lonely. I live shoulder to shoulder among four million people on a generation ship. I wonder what lonely means.
Arachnid Defense by Herb Kauderer
Arachnid Defense Herb Kauderer Alien attack repelled. Nuclear option wins war. shadows still holding hands blasted into brick, hominids reduced to soot.
Having Touched Sky by Herb Kauderer
Having Touched Sky Herb Kauderer Pegasus should have freed Equus ferus from the tyranny of dirt and gravity, but once aloft the winds he could not force himself to settle down and breed.
look the other way by Herb Kauderer
look the other way Herb Kauderer tidally locked moon looks down on a dead planet survivors travel settle on distant farside to keep from facing the past
what lay underfoot by Herb Kauderer
what lay underfoot Herb Kauderer in the cold of a frigid moon in the land of microscopic silicate crabs a city died late at night when red-lit hunters landed with no care for what lay underfoot & no awareness of their need for what…
Doom by Herb Kauderer
Doom Herb Kauderer Hobbled in alien chains the noble hero routine fails. Sinew cannot break this unknown metal. A strong heart cannot tumble down the stones in these prison walls. A hero’s handsomeness cannot sway non-human guards who do not look. Only a keen-edged…
listener by Herb Kauderer
listener Herb Kauderer on nights like this when lightning chases leaves down the mountain and the wind stalks the grass like a cat the eastern gods walk as long ago you can hear them calling each other in the thunder and on a distant…
sentient pushing by Herb Kauderer
sentient pushing Herb Kauderer for every secret and mystery to tumble down before sentient pushing there is a place where the winds tumble down answers like grains of sand across Martian plains Pandora #26 1990
The Robot Insane by Herb Kauderer
The Robot Insane Herb Kauderer Once known as Maxine XY12 the robot lives nameless & alone on an asteroid easily left, if she only knew how. Deep in a crater she works augmenting with nuclear reactions power taken from glimpses of the distant sun….
Love Letters of Old by David Russell
Love Letters of Old David Russell My love was stifled Between the gum and the paper – The sealed envelope was lumpy
Who changed YOUR life?
Book Plates available through Richard H. Fay’s Azure Lion Productions Zazzle Store
Anieth features online fantasy graphic novels for YA and up. A.R. Stone has also created cards and prints highlighting European mythology. This site is a must for lovers of ancient Europe, Wiccan, Celtic and Viking lore.
Metastable Systems – speculative poetry from David Kopaska-Merkel. Available in all standard E-book formats
