THE WASHER AT THE FORD, by James Matthew Byers   The hooded crow flew overhead, Confusion followed suit. Announcing menace, full of dread, Abiding her salute, The men below her in the field Engaged in arts of war Fermented furor, axe and shield, Dismemberment and gore. A side, so chosen in her jaunt, As Babd […]

DRAGON MOUNTAIN, by Mary Soon Lee   Then to the dragon mountain rode the scarred king with nine guards to shield him, closer than brothers. “What is this? Meat?” Li, captain of King Xau’s guards, chewed on a hardened lump from the way-fort where they’d changed horses. “Diseased pig,” said Leong. “Old dog,” said Atun. […]

FIRE LOVER, by Karen Bovenmyer Do I really own you, Fire lover, woman of dragons? Gold foil on your breast, your head Reflecting the heat of the beast under you Resonating with secret places Inside your familiar column of flesh A pulse of heat from head to toe Like you, dragons mate for life Accepting […]

THE BARGHEST REVENGE, by Adam Vine   I. The Barghest rose from stirring gloom Through creeping shadows of my room The dangling keys about his wrists Like tiny bells foretelling doom. O’er to my bed he slithered, black His skin mottled like mordant wax All tufts of hair in ancient cysts Sprouting from nose, toes, […]

Gæscligcrymblingas, by Ariel Bolton   Hwæt! A is for Alhwin, whom nematodes ate That’s not an untypical Old English fate And Æ is young Ælfred, attacked by his thanes B is for Byrhtnoth, beheaded by Danes C is for Cynewulf, caught with a wench D is for Dufenal, duped by the French E is for […]