Mine 17, Randy Brooks
“elevator shaft darkens / going down / a joker’s light”

Hugs Hunny and The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry, Alessandra Nysether-Santos
“If I was a drag queen, I would be Hugs Hunny— / maybe what I mean is… one of my many selves is Hugs Hunny.”

Hell Is Other People’s Laundry, Alyssa Beatty
“She also claimed to be psychic. Farah saw no evidence of this. Sadie said she refrained from reading Farah’s mind out of courtesy, a statement so blatantly out of character it was clearly a lie.”

two haiku, Ruth Holzer
“heavy traffic / edging past / a car on fire”

Circus Baby, Melissa E. Jordan
“Over the bassinet and out the window / came bristly small things, then orangutans and giraffes,”

Interview with a Trout at a Sidewalk Cafe in Amsterdam, James A. Foster
“We face each other across a linen-draped table at a crowded outdoor cafe in Amsterdam, me astride a giant tortoise and the trout floating in midair. Between us, a crystal trumpet vase sprouts a single black tulip.”

Cover art: doll, Sasha Moroz