Issue of August 25, 2025

Sugar by Jim Wright — Cover story fiction life

Testosterone and muscle cars...

Amalgamation by Ali Ashhar — Poem

"...beyond propaganda and prejudice..."

Echoes from Koel by Gopal Lahiri — Poem

"... Koel river picks echoes of the Palamau forest..."

How Do AI Chatbots Keep Their Cool? by Ndaba Sibanda — Poem

"...Suppose some office-bearers were AI chatbots..."

The Snicket by Stephen Kingsnorth — Poem

"...Face front, two privet edge, alone..."

Arrival Before the Rose Dream Ends by Yucheng Tao — Poem unrhymed

"...The union of dead volcanoes and roses..."

Burn, Baby, Burn by Scott Thomas Outlar — Poem unrhymed

"...Revelations are born in moments of great understanding..."

Cogito by Rajnish Mishra — Poem unrhymed

"...questions that are, were; have been alive in my mind..."

Leaving by D. Marie Fitzgerald — Poem unrhymed

"...You might even call it a retreat..."

That Dance by Linda Imbler — Poem unrhymed

"...the beginning of great things..."

The Resurrected Face of Emmet Till by Thomas Elson — Poem unrhymed

"...A repellant death mask..."

Ngongo Chronicle 07 by Ron Singer — Serial fiction

Pierre learns of Nduke's flight as a refugee...

Digital Nostalgia: A Commodore 64’s Last Stand by Daniel P. Douglas — Speculative fiction

Daniel P. Douglas is the pen name for identical twins Phillip and Paul Garver. Phillip, a U.S. Army veteran, former intelligence analyst, and retired federal government employee, and Paul, with 30 years in the museum profession including the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, write science fiction, suspense, and thrillers.