Welcome to the sixth quarterly issue of This Mortal Portal, coming to you on the second day of winter.

1. A microessay feat. original poems (!)
2. Vic's Picks (fall faves)
3. For the Record (things done)

Plus an apple-jugglin’ GIF and a strange cartoon. Merry Christmas and happy holi-days to you and yours!

-V

Do You Haiku?

Or There’s Something About Poetry

“Chap Vic,” he says to me, “you got an MP3 player I could hold to get me through blackout?”

“Not right now, man - sorry. But hey, poetry night’s tonight - you coming?”

“Nah, I don’t do poems,” he says, eyes dropping.

“Well,” says I, “do you like music? Same thing.” That night he came to the poetry meeting - and surprised himself with what he wrote.