Essays

One Thousand Different Snapshots
Najma Abbi hungers to uncover her father’s hidden history.

Crossing to Safety
Kirk Astroth and his fellow humanitarians patrol the border armed with water, food, and kindness.

Word, Image, Shadow, Light
Fran Blake puzzles over the meaning and messages of time, place, and memory.

Singing Out Safe
Carlos Deleon discovers his own voice in a chorus of support.

Summoning
Mahru Elahi hopes to fly away from troubles at home.

Love Note
Allan Hunter searches for a story and finds a rabbit instead.

Columns and Rows
Ann Kendall counters the gray and blurry with the crisp safety of black and white.

No One Gets It Right
Jen Machajewski steps away from a bedside vigil and into a fevered sanctuary.

How to Carry the Dead
Lindsay Rutherford seeks solace as she grieves the loss of strangers.

Holding On
Jodie Sadowsky claims her place among four generations of brave women and girls.

Other Shelters
Angela Townsend befriends a human in a safe haven for cats.

It’s Gonna Be All Right
Robyn Weaver tastes love and consolation in her morning meal.

Gathered In
Krista Westendorp and her family take a Sunday morning drive to acceptance and belonging.

Poetry

Too Much, Not Enough
Najib Abbi shoulders the burden of personhood denied.

Corpse Pose
Denise Celentano uncovers meaning in the stillness.  

sanctuario: sanctuary
María Luisa Arroyo Cruzado gives books their proper due. 

Three Poems of the Natural World
Kerry J Heckman maps the scenic route to find her inner self.

Driving Out of Indiana
Nathaniel Lachenmeyer feels his worry take the wheel.

Three Poems of Illumination
Jessica Pulver collects some moments from a life.

Two Poems of Emotional Inquiry
Norman Tran travels back in time in order to move forward. 

Photography

The Solace of Nature
Two photos by Chris Luis

Refuge in the Wreckage
Three photos by Richard Spang

Places of Peace
Three photos by Cindy Stewart