This selection, chosen by guest editor nat raum, is from A Few Mythic Paths by Mari Ness (Porkbelly Press, 2024).
THE TALES
The sleeping princess, the
charming prince, the beast
transformed. The hope
that evil can be overcome,
that all wounds can be healed.
That transformation will bring joy.
The princess trapped in a glass coffin,
hands imprisoned by an unknown prince.
The pale girl kneeling before a frozen queen,
thinking of a robber girl. A barefoot maiden
chasing a transformed bear, her feet
trailing drops of blood. The princess
sullen at her grand window,
laughing only when she sees
peasants tied to a golden goose
unable to free their hands.
Mari Ness lives in central Florida, and has sometimes been spotted talking to live oak trees. Other work appears in multiple zines and anthologies, including Reactor, Clarkesworld, Uncanny, LIghtspeed, Nightmare, Nature Futures, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Baffling, Strange Horizons and Haven Spec. Mari has also been a finalist for the Hugo and Canopus Awards, and won the 2021 Outwrite Fiction Award.
nat raum (b. 1996) is a queer disabled artist, writer, and editor based on unceded Piscataway and Susquehannock land in Baltimore. They hold an MFA from the University of Baltimore and a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Past and upcoming publishers of their work include Poet Lore, beestung, Baltimore Beat, Split Lip Magazine, BRUISER, and others. Find them online at natraum.com.
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