February 2023 | Issue #24
That’s all we have, finally. The words, and they had better be the right ones. —Raymond Carver
Translator’s Note | Kalani Padilla

Translator’s Note
Japanese Names
T/N: there is always a decision before what we think is the first decision, and here it is a matter of introductions. When Japanese give their name, they give family name first and given name second. They may even say their family name, only. Middle names are not traditionally assigned; they “do not exist.” But unspoken names do exist. They swim in and out of the iris.

Understories | Richard Jackson
Understories
Saving the Last Dance from Lambertville
So what if those stars had long ago
become
cinders,
we still believe what we see,
still read
our lives by them.
So what if we say it
really was
the crows that pulled this darkness over me,
or
that the mockingbird was singing
only for us … Read more

Sight-Paths | Hoyt Rogers
Sight-Paths
If we could live
the sight-path
of the frigate bird,
the path as wide
as day—the path
circling the sea,
seizing the earth
as a sphere. If we
could live that path
only for a moment,
then we would live.
