“The first and most pressing / question is the best way / to keep going.” These lines in James Ducat’s “Debris Orbits Mistakes” offer not only a perfect beginning to a poem, but also an apt starting place for this note. If Issue 0 was Chrysalism’s proof of concept, then Issue 1 is, I hope, a sign we’re hitting our stride and here to stay. 

In this issue, you’ll find yourself exploring “land … drunk with ghosts” and “speak[ing] in chorus with the stars” amidst poems that range in tenor from the “quiet humming carried by crust of waves” to “singing // promises into the sticky darkness.” While the poems are delightfully varied in both form and content, they are united in their ability to captivate us; all of them taught us something about just how powerful a vehicle language can be at exploring the human condition and the world around us. At a time when, too often, “silence / [is] safer than reply,” I’m so happy to be able to share these poets’ voices and am grateful for their decision “to sing the song / Of this world,” each in their own key. 

None of this would have been possible, of course, without the help of everyone on our team, especially our interns, past and present—Alex, Annabella, Ashley, Brendan, Brooklynn, Cam, Dash, Devin, Emmett, Kateri, Lana, Lex, Makenna, Nick, Nina, and Sam. Thank you for making this happen!

Matt Del Busto

Chrysalism Editor-in-Chief

October 2026