April 2024 | Issue #35
It was as if, through that one sentence, she had wandered out of the yard of her usual language and found herself in a different, mysterious, elegant part of town. —Barbara Feinberg
The Crayfish Ferris Wheel | Brian C. Billings
The Crayfish Ferris Wheel
frantic and wild to escape the flat,
to rinse out our weary, moleish eyes
and frisk like the chittery river ratalong the doughy banks of the Ock
far from fusty flannels and the cracked lav
that reeked of toasted figs in syrup.
We swore we two would have
no regrets on the water, just a load
of messing about with leaking boats
Xeroseres: A Lesson | Faith Allington
Xeroseres: A Lesson
You learn all about Puccinia in school, how rust fungi are pathogens only suited to their chosen hosts. When the spore lands on a surface, it can germinate with hyphal filaments, touch-responsive as a tongue.
Today we are primarily concerned about seres, the ecological succession of plant communities. The seres are an important part of the Puccinia agreement. Who can tell me two types of seres?
Your hand goes up, quivering with excitement. Hydroseres develop in ponds, lakes and other … Read more
The Mood Begins to Shift | Gerald Yelle
The Mood Begins to Shift
You wouldn’t know what lies can do to an elephant tusk. Have you ever had a sore tusk? It’s like being the Cyclops and Odysseus is driving a red-hot poker through your one and only eye, so you won’t see through his lies anymore. You hear your brain sizzle and pop. Not killing nerves so they wind up numb—but plucking and stretching them beyond their limits then snapping them back so the pain can stretch them out again. You don’t black out either—the noise won’t let you. There’s a throb. There’s a panting for breath. There’s … Read more