This issue was completed with special thanks to my guest editor, poet, philosopher and singer-songwriter Justin Paul, who also provided the cover photo! It was with his hard work and passion that inspired me to put together an incredibly special issue. I'm grateful and indebted to him (especially for our conversations about poetics and the alchemy of the unconscious). It's times like this, I think the act of poetry might be the universal solvent in creating the Philosophers Stone. In our eighth issue, I have the privilege (and honour) of including Sergeant Robert MacLaren's poem, A Lament, where he openly shares himself and his search after his experiences as a veteran of the US Air Force after the Vietnam War. It was during my time as an undergraduate at Trent University, while I was researching a paper on Canadians in Vietnam, his daughter, Heather, was generous to share her father's original photos, medals, and memories from his time there. After reconnecting this su...