Sabrina Fedel – Zero
Zero She found my father hunched in a squat, hand outstretched, wet can of c-rations waiting to be licked clean both lost to the Philippines Clinging, like drops of rain or sweat, when the clap of intelligent life broke the canopy open, vines cracking into ribbon pieces floating and falling she hid burrowing a fox […]
Matilda Berke – Échappé
Échappé During the Cultural Revolution, Madame Mao took control of the National Ballet of China. Government officials scoured the nation for children who showed physical promise, plucking them from their homes and placing them in state-sanctioned training camps. The dream where the moon filters through onto the dust & I find myself in my mother’s […]
Annette C. Boehm – Operator
Operator The front line’s a 45 minute drive from my place. I grab Starbucks on the way. I take over mid-air, fly three eight hour shifts, lose track of my body in Vegas, my eyes on gray scale dirt, my eyes the drone’s. 5,000 feet is best. The image so clear I can tell the […]
Introduction by Bruce Boston & Marge Simon
Introduction Another year has passed, and we are pleased to offer you the annual speculative poetry issue of The Pedestal Magazine. We received over 1200 poems to consider for this issue. As we read them, we each put our own “Maybe” or “No” with the poem, along with “Personal” for those poets we knew or […]
Jane Williams – The Memory Machines
The Memory Machines I’ve heard rumors that some of them have turned, disabled their compliancy chips. Deaf to your dying wish. Seems they just want to test your mettle. Plain and simple. At the exact moment you decide on the climax of some grand passion or cause for your eternal rerun, you’ll feel a tiny […]
