The Courier – “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” So goes the motto of the United States Postal Service. This service, enshrined along with slavery, in the United States Constitution, is of political contention during this polemic era. Under question is whether the USPS should be an institution for the benefit all or if it should be determined by political considerations, or better yet privatized and controlled by the wealthy solely for profit. None of this is of concern for Stoke, unaware of the dedication of the employees of the organization constitutionally committed to the delivery of the mail and any written words of citizens. Regardless of anything, including this knowledge, the philosophy and message of Stoke remains the same. “Nothing matters.” A message delivered through cold and deluge and desert and the hopelessness of night. No weather nor circumstance can change the meaninglessness and purposelessness of the Nihileaf. Such dedication does Stoke have to nihilism! There are those that can be swayed by hope or love or philosophy or ideology, but not Stoke and not this writer and perhaps not even you, the reader. The Courier is the universe, along with its cold, uncaring, heartless reality, and the message is the destiny of nothingness. The apt aphorism , one I hope you keep in mind, is ‘don’t shoot the messenger’. – Zachary