Issue of January 5, 2026

Beneath the Branches of the Kapok by Andrew Westermann — Cover story speculative fiction

Andrew Westermann lives in St. Louis with his wife and daughter and two too many cats. His fiction explores the edges of consciousness and identity, imagining the strange futures we build when we forget what we used to be.

Don't Stop Dancin' by Seth Coggeshall — Fiction horror

Is it always possible to have hope?

A Warming World Leaking Sadness by Sreelekha Chatterjee — Flash fiction

What will come, will come...

Insomniac Dreams by Deborah Blenkhorn — Flash fiction

Time to adopt a cat to sleep on the pillow?

Accounts by Jim Murdoch — Poem

"...Some even manage to be entertaining..."

Feed Is First, Greed Last by Ndaba Sibanda — Poem

"...Fair farmers' radar sees a ray..."

Crush the Hell on Earth: A Prayer in 10 Parts! (9) by Pranab Ghosh — Poem unrhymed

"...for a brighter future..."

Gone by Richard LeDue — Poem unrhymed

"The grey sky reminds me of..."

Harbor by Sanjeev Sethi — Poem unrhymed

"...To unbraid multiple strands requires hidden fingers..."

Money Makers by Peter Mladinic — Poem unrhymed

"...beer drinking made the brewers, shippers sellers, and advertisers rich..."

Morning Class with Sanford by John Dorroh — Poem unrhymed

"Reading poems out loud to my dog..."

My Astrologer by Michael Minassian — Poem unrhymed

"...The astrologer sits facing the window..."

Ngongo Chronicle: Copper: A Memoir 09 by Ron Singer — Serial fiction

Nkwema gives an account of his 'successes'...