By Mark Anthony Cayanan
Featured Art: “Event Horizon” by Mallory Stowe

Guess manageable despair arrives on time today,  
my soul cracking when sunlight sharpens my migraine.  
I listen to Wilco and amplify my unoriginal sadness.   
The U-Bahn stalls at Ullsteinstraße and now I’m sure
I’m going to be alone forever, and it’s oh so important,
this intimate history between my earbuds and my feelings.
It wouldn’t be so bad, being somewhat lonely, mostly
ordinary, if I could soundtrack my life. I’d stare at rows
of bottled wieners while mumbling invented lyrics.
And I’m still mostly male and so adjust myself in the aisle,
my ball cap and sullen face, chili & lime chips, cheap IPAs.
I self-checkout to avoid talking. I bring my own bag.
Pleasure never lasts, you know, but pleasure does. And how
embarrassing, to be unloved. I hum every longing home.  

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Mark Anthony Cayanan is based out of Angeles City, Philippines. They are an Associate Professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman. A former postdoctoral fellow of ICI Berlin, they are a recipient of residencies from, most recently, Art Omi and Saari. Their newer poems may be found in Bennington Review, Harvard Review Online, and Georgia Review. Their fourth book, Miracle Fever, is forthcoming in 2026 from Northwestern UP.

Mallory Stowe is a painter interested in the awe and anxiety of the natural world. Her work reflects how systems of memory, whether in the body, the environment, or society, can perpetuate suffering or nurture empathy. Stowe received her BFA from Ohio University in 2022 and her MFA from University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2025.