Karen A. Romanko

Lamplighter

She walks
the cobblestones—
gaslights bend to her reach,
flame and burn bright, sparking her world…
new suns,
circled by fledgling satellites,
ethereal main street
brought to life by
her touch



after Venetian Lamplighter by Maxfield Parish (1922)

Karen A. Romanko has seen over 100 of her poems and short stories published in venues such as Strange Horizons, Aberrant Dreams, and Ideomancer. When she switches literary hats, she edits and publishes speculative fiction and poetry anthologies, such as the forthcoming Spec-tacular: Fantasy Favorites from Raven Electrick Ink.