Issue 3 Poetry

Each issue we’ll feature poetry that captures both the YA voice and elements of the fantastic. Ken Liu is our first featured poet, with the dark and evocative ‘Seven Haikus from Ye Xian’ and ‘Mother, I Always Knew It Was You’.

 

Seven Haikus from Ye Xian

The fish glows, golden
In the pool. “Mother, you’re back.”
Secret happiness.

Laughing, they ate her.
“I’m still with you,” she whispers.
I bury her bones.

Pearls, silk, jade — a dance!
Alone, I sweep, scrub, and weep.
“Go, daughter. It’s time.”

Glass slippers as smooth
As gliding on ice. “You are?”
His eyes lock with mine.

“I will marry the girl …”
You know the rest.  They fit like
His arms around me.

Hate, rage, and envy.
My sisters, my not-mother,
With bloody, bound feet.

Think of me often
As you sweep, weep in your cave.
Did the fish taste good?

 

Mother I Always Knew It Was You

The first time, you made yourself ugly,
Dirty, wrinkly, begging for pity.
But your eyes gave you away,
So beautiful, fair, and cold,
December icicles.

“Yes, I will buy some laces,” I said.
You pulled and pulled, the tight
Embrace a lesson on womanhood.
So this is how it feels to be loved.
I did not hate you.

The next time, you made yourself horrid,
Rags, bags, maggot-filled bleeding wounds.
But your eyes gave you away,
So lustrous, clear, razor-sharp,
Mirror-bright twin daggers.

“Yes, I will buy your comb,” I said.
You brushed and brushed, the way
You never did when I was home.
So this is how it feels to be loved.
I did not hate you.

The last time, you made yourself ancient,
Croaking, wheezing, you sounded like death.
But your eyes gave you away,
So quick, alert, all-prying,
Praying mantis feelers.

“Yes, I will eat that apple,” I said.
I bit, you watched, the sweet
Juice turning bitter in my throat.
So this is how it feels to be loved.
I did not hate you.

And now you dance before me.
Screaming, pleading, begging for mercy.
But your eyes give you away,
So mad, glad, without regret,
Boiling, churning cauldrons.

I cannot speak. I inhale the fumes
As your feet sizzle, burn,
Char in your red-hot iron shoes.
So this is how it feels to not feel.
I do not hate you.

 

Ken is a programmer as well as a lawyer, and he’s still not sure whether it’s easier to write for machines or for other lawyers. His fiction and poetry have appeared in F&SF, Asimov’s, Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, and Strange Horizons, among other places. He lives near Boston, Massachusetts, with his wife and daughter. You can find out more about him and his work here.