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When one looks in the box, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the cat.

Reactor

The Other Other Gods

You know all of the Other Gods
the Old Ones and their avatars
from creatures made of bubble soap
to things that lurk beyond the stars.

But what of Other Other Gods?
less famous than ol’ squid-face head?
For where you dare not dare to dare
the fearsome Rhonda licks the dead!

Part dish, part rat, part magic lamp
Part cuttlefish, part soup, part slug
The arcane Trevor, while you sleep
pours buttermilk upon your rug.

There’s Pam, whose gums stink of the sea
And Stephanie the bloated sun
And Omar, called the Goat and Wheel
And what’s-her-name, the nameless one

And Ferdinand, the Leaping Glare!
And Butterscotch the Brutal Snore!
And Ethan Jones of Wichita.
(I don’t know what he’s in here for.)

More terrors gibber in the mist
than penetrate the mind’s facades
So when your rug smells of the dead
Recall the Other Other Gods.


Illustration by Brian Elig.
(Click on image above to see at full scale.)

For more, see the I Speak Fluent Giraffe Index.

About the Author

About Author Mobile

Jason Henninger

Author

I'm the assistant managing editor of Living Buddhism Magazine, fond of philosophical fiction, magical realism and good ol' farmboy-saves-the-world fantasy epics. I write short stories, poems and novels that my mother thnks are really great. Now, if I could just get my mom to work for a publisher, I'd be set. Oh and here's a really outdated clip of me contact juggling. It's a fun hobby and may some day win me the heart of Jennifer Connolly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFphHR8u01A

Jason Henninger is the assistant managing editor of Living Buddhism magazine. His short fiction has appeared in the anthology Hastur Pussycat, Kill! Kill! and various ill-fated and short-lived webzines. He marvels that he's not caused the demise of Tor.com.

Learn More About Jason
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