Khimairal Ink

Fade to Rose
Tyree Campbell

The Women of Gomorrah
Sheela Ardrian

The Last Row of Wheat
Sias Bryant

Christie and the Hellcat Excerpt
Barbara Davies

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Humanity's future lies among the stars. Settled during the Second Diaspora, the Freedom System boasts two inhabited planets: Gomorrah, a bit larger and closer to its sun Liberty than Earth to Sol; and Sodom, smaller and farther away. A world of warm oceans dotted with islands, under a sky full of glistening rings shepherded by many moons, Gomorrah is populated primarily by women-loving women. Their poetry speaks of their passion for each other, but also of their pride in their history and their home. So read on, and meet ... the women of Gomorrah.

Sufficiencies

I have a boat
With a sail of lavender seasilk.
It carries me past the cries of the gullibles
Out to the open ocean where the fish fall prey
To my strong arms wielding the nets and harpoons.

I have a brother
Who moved to Sodom.
Sometimes I see him and we
Remember growing up together - we
May be twins but we're really not much alike.

I have a lover
Who helps me chisel
Barnacle geese off the boat,
Teases me about my brother, nestles
Her breasts against mine like waves crossing a wake.

I have a boat and a brother and a lover
And that's enough for me.

Eyes Only

The tide is rising,
Salty and sweet, as
The Aphrodite Ocean
Tickles my toes -
But I have eyes only
For the sleek seashell
Shape where your
Thighs meet.
Overhead the sky
Wrinkles with clouds
Like a woman's gown,
Sodom shining like a
Tawny ruby at the hem -
But I have eyes only
For the naked silk
Of your skin.
The crowing-hens
On the cliffs announce
The end of day,
Shushed by the
Endless waves,
And the fiddling-crabs
Give a concert for two -
But I have eyes only
For the lift and kiss
Of your lips caressing
The shape of my name.
Somehow the heavy
Gravity makes
My heart light,
And the thick wind
Fills my lungs with
A shout of joy,
So that the thought of
How far we have come
Brings me comfort,
And I give thanks for
Our own world,
Gomorrah -
But I have eyes only
For the flash of
My ring on your finger
As you brush the
Amethyst sands
From your hips and
Lead me up the beach
To our home.

Driftwood

We lie here tonight,
Alone at last,
Washed up on this
Foreign shore like
Two pieces of
Cosmic driftwood
Twisted together
By the tides of time.
Above us,
The Shepherd Moons
Chivvy their herds
Into shape, the rings
Of Gomorrah
Outshining the stars.
We have ridden
The currents of space
To settle here,
Tossed and turned
In the fevered seas,
All our rough grain
Rubbed smooth
And sleek.
The years of our
Growing show through
To make us beautiful,
Our lives etched out
In swirling lines.
It does not matter
How far we had to
Come seeking peace;
It only matters
That we have found it
Here, as all things
Which float upon the
Ocean must someday
Come to shore.
Now the broad beach
Holds us close
As our limbs intertwine
And we rest
Content.