Silo City Public Art, photo credit: TL Sherwood.

Happy Fall and welcome to our October issue with the theme of “RUST,” featuring some wonderful poems, stories, essays, and flash all complimented by images from the buildings and surrounding areas of Silo City on the Buffalo waterfront.

I’ve been thinking a lot about rust as I put this issue together, about the process of oxidation, the transfer of electrons, and the changes that happen over time to overtake us all with the aim of breaking every (organic and inorganic) thing back down into its most elemental units. It’s a fascinating process and since we have plenty of iron in our bodies and blood, we are perpetually rusting or staving off rust ourselves. Many mornings I feel kinship with the Tin Man, squeaking through frozen lips, “Oil can! Oil can!”

At home, I have a new rescue puppy (what was I thinking?) who is definitely keeping the rust from growing under my feet, along with a new batch of roughly 400 hermit crab zoeae who are keeping me busy round the clock—we’re on day nineteen as of this writing, and closing in on 100 gallons of saltwater mixed so far. My son is home for a few months as he finalizes his Peace Corps paperwork before heading off to Zambia next year, my eldest daughter is opening her own business (a board game cafe) this week, and my middle daughter recently aced her final certifying exam and is now a licensed architect in the state of New York. It’s been a busy summer.

My hope is that the fine work in this issue offers you some light in the darkness, healing laughter, or cathartic tears. And as always, thank you for reading.

Yours in Recovery,

Mary Akers
Editor-in-chief