Issue 30 | Spring 2024
i really love the little things that go unnoticed
Philip Jason
The first thing I want you to know is that I love
the circle you drew in the sand
with your finger. It has one
too many corners, but it is a thing of you
and in its happenstance, I can feel you dreaming.
The second thing I want you to know is that
I love you for how you plant your feet
in the earth; beneath you, gravity stitches
the mild underheavens of this world
to the calloused pads of your lower paws.
Which brings me to the third thing:
there are places no one has touched,
small places on the surface of the Earth
kept secret by probability magics, and large
places holed up deep in the exoskeleton
of the planet. Each time you plant yourself
into the ground, these places yearn. They spread
rumors to each other about the circle you left
in the skin of a crumbled mountain.
I can hear them whispering through
the telephonic clovers, each of which sprouts
a sudden extra leaf to amplify the transmission.
Even the sun feels the increased pull of chlorophyll
on its roiling spirits. It is a ball of flaming gravity,
hungry for fame, and yet, it is humbled
by the heart-shaped pearl
its soaring offspring has wrought
at the center of your wandering shell.
About the Author
Philip Jason’s stories can be found in Prairie Schooner, The Pinch, Mid-American Review, Ninth Letter, and J Journal; his poetry in Spillway, Lake Effect, Hawaii Pacific Review, Pallette and Indianapolis Review. He is the author of the novel Window Eyes (Unsolicited Press, 2023). He has collections of poetry forthcoming from Fernwood Press and Shanti Arts Press. For more, please visit philipjason.com.
Prose
The Tangled Mysteries or The Transmutation of Affection Bruno Lloret, translated by Ellen Jones
Nova Veronica Wasson
Crying Spirit Kasimma
Diwata, Where She Walked Wilfrido Nolledo
Fake Moon Amy DeBellis
Zeppole (aka Awama) Khalil AbuSharekh
Excerpt from Imagine Breaking Everything Lina Munar Guevara, translated by Ellen Jones
Five Shots of Gay Sam, 2009-10 Daniel David Froid
Two Tales Alvin Lu
The Wall Ricardo Piglia, translated by Erik Noonan
Skinny Dipping Bailey Sims
Eight Quebecois Surnames Francisco García González translated by Bradley J. Nelson
Poetry
happy William Aarnes
i really love the little things that go unnoticed Philip Jason
College Jeffrey Kingman
The Desert Inn Betsy Martin
Cover Art
In the Heart of Love Nicole F. Kimball