As October settles over us, we find ourselves craving the simplicity of the season. Cool breezes, warm drinks. The gentle embrace of someone we love. As the world becomes increasingly entangled with grief, we find ourselves yearning for the simplicity of joy to bolster our spirits. This issue, focused on poetry and art, features many works whose simplicity belies their complexity.  

 

“In Self-Portrait as a Silence,” debut poet Rhheaa Mehta craves a gentle existence with “i want to be the silence / of the dancing dust.” In “Flashback” by Kenton K. Yee, grief and longing are rendered to their most basic parts with the memory of a loved one made as delicate as a butterfly with “a flash of orange / and gone.” And in our cover art by Cynthia Yatchman, the unadorned title of “Wheat” juxtaposes with the flourish of colors and textures in her piece.  

 

Enjoy the issue here.