Issue of April 7, 2025

The Obvious Candidate by Mark Barlex — Cover story fiction

Mark Barlex began writing fiction in 2021. He was a semi-finalist in the Wergle Flump Humor Poetry competition, shortlisted for the Bath Flash Fiction Award, and runner-up in the Missouri Review Jeffery E Smith Editors’ Prize.

The Rail Ends Here by Ethan Kelley — Fiction

Ethan is a writer from West Virginia. His work has been previously published by the Morgantown Writers Group in their River and Stone Anthology. He writes mostly short fiction and poetry and he has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Philosophy.

The Key by Gary Duehr — Fiction life

If only there was some kind of translator to tell us how others really feel...

The Neighbor by Eric Burbridge — Fiction life

Some people...

A Proposal for Three More Dimensions of Wellness by Ndaba Sibanda — Poem

"Life is dynamic and diverse..."

The Cabbie by Robert Paul Allen — Poem

"...He raced ahead and saw a man struggling..."

Where Lies The Land of Prosperity? by H.L. Dowless — Poem

"...No such thing anymore as working a person’s way up..."

A Long Haul Day by Bradford Middleton — Poem unrhymed

"...Today has been tough..."

A Passing Glance by Nolo Segundo — Poem unrhymed

"...I realized the truth of what I saw..."

Blue Edge by Gopal Lahiri — Poem unrhymed

"...all things are gone, yet present..."

Embrace My Silence by Jasna Gugić — Poem unrhymed

"...call me by my name..."

Finding a sanctuary in an inferno by Abigail George — Poem unrhymed

"...the country where you live now..."

Just Another Poet by Michael Lee Johnson — Poem unrhymed

"...raise the poets of merit up from the grave..."