The Lorelei Signal

So Many Spirals
Written by Lynne Sargent / Artwork by Marge Simon

She pricks her finger
on the tip of the bottle opener
its silver screw
ready to twirl into the cork
like spooling thread.
She doesn’t need
to sleep for a hundred years,
she just needs to sleep tonight
just needs to put the curse off
for another hour, another day,
just needs for time to pass without her existence.
It is too dark
to keep looking at the briar hedges,
tomorrow promises too many dragons;
the spiral of women’s work
the weight of a hundred years
another day her hands will be
so heavy.
And who is to know
the intention of a falling finger,
there is no accountability in dreamlessness.
Is the warmth now filling her
the gentle drop of blood,
and oncoming sleep
or the smooth swallow
of red wine?
The story runs off the page,
the reader drifts into sleep
the princess does not ask
how they get there.





Lynne Sargent is a writer, aerialist, and holds a Ph.D in Applied Philosophy. They are the poetry editor at Utopia Science Fiction magazine. Their work has been nominated for Rhysling, Elgin, and Aurora Awards, and has appeared in venues such as Augur Magazine, Strange Horizons, and Daily Science Fiction. Their first collection, A Refuge of Tales is out now from Renaissance Press.
To find out more, reach out to them on Twitter @SamLynneS or for a complete bibliography visit them at scribbledshadows.wordpress.com.