Find strength in humility (and mud) with Black Tortoise Kowtows by cover artist Herman Lau. Journey to the ends of the earth - and reality - in ''Gumdrop: A Bekker Story'' by feature author JJ Lee. Time ticks ever forward in ''The Realm of Shadows'' by Megan W Shaw, ''Pretty Lies: Fly Away'' by Mel Anastasiou, and ''Would We Had Time'' by Lorina Stephens. Hannah van Didden with ''Gerald Bantam Says Goodbye'', Douglas Smith with ''The Balance'', and Laura Kuhlmann with ''A Jar of Marmalade'' usher us to the other side of grief. Pivot the moment with ''Clothesline'' by Kimberley Aslett and ''Respawn'' by Michelle Barker. And pivot the argument with ''A Gentleman''s Primer'' by Mitchell Shanklin and ''The Shepherdess: Artifice'' by JM Landels. Poetry by Mitchell Bodo, Alex Kitt, and Derek Webster asks life''s big questions. And cartoons by Hurricane Nancy answer yes, it''ll be all right.