Literary Magazine Winter 2021 Issue
Total Page：16
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1 2 Staff Faculty Advisor……………………………………………………....................................................Ms. Sautter President……………...………………………………………...................................................Janice Indajang Vice President……………………………………………….................................................……….Abby Lorch Secretary……………………………………………………..................................................….Callahan Coffey Co-Tech Rep…………………………………………………...................................…..Daniel Collazo-Schiavo Co-Tech Rep……………………………………..……………......................................................Evan Corwin Editor……….………………………………………………….........................................................Amelia Chee Editor……….………………………………………………...............................................…..Jacob Morrissette Editor……….……………………………………………….................................................….........Annika Joshi 3 Table of Contents Poetry earth. .Grace Perna [3] thoughtless / baseless. Grace Perna [3] brain fog. .Grace Perna [4] time waisted. Grace Perna [4] The Parallels of the Universe . .Ishan Swali [5] Tiny Plane . .Amelia Chee [5] Three Knocks . Ella White [6] A Nice Day . Akshi Patil [7] Two Bad Choices . Nathan Brimhall [8] The Rules. Nathan Brimhall [9] Fantasy. Nathan Brimhall [9] Nonfiction A Declaration About Leadership . .Janice Indajang [10] Escape Plan . Emily Van Pelt [13] The Man in the Mirror . Evan Corwin[16] A New World . .Anonymous [19] Fiction The Call of the Woods . .Maggie Córdova [21] Dad. .Molly McBain [25] Head Above Water . Trinity Sanders [29] Never Alone . .Amelia Chee [32] Vale Timor . .Callahan Coffey [34] War Games . Arnav Singh [38] Artwork The Distance Between Us . Kyra Gregoire [Cover] Calm After the Storm . .Janice Indajang [12] Something Sweet! . .Amelia Chee [15] Knight. .Janice Indajang [18] Life Is Pain. Jacob Morrissette [24] Still Life. Rhianna Smith [28] Halloween bug . .Jacob Morrissette [33] Shen Censorship . Anonymous [43] 3 but you are not the earth, earth. and what you live for is unknown. By Grace Perna atmosphere penetrable fears to be lifted at some zenith in eons and magma rises again. sheltered and secure and pained riding convection waves, constrained and stuttered and then the earth shakes. knowledge hiding in circumstance. up down hot cold never care to clarify, we bask in our never can begin to begin. contradictions, miss the mark and abide by the actions oppositions inner consciousness cries out yet again. don’t we? telling yourself you’re solid as you well up but have you ever been to the mantle? in tears stockings lined of evidence you are not at home here. smitten to dreams in fear, hopes and prayers and hopeless romance you guard the unknown. afraid of messing it up for you are not the earth, dedicated to never seeing it through. you are bone. tired of all but outside this head this reality, churning and true. thoughtless / baseless. knowing we don’t know by Grace Perna what’s down there. unrequited virtue amidst my niagara hidden enigmas beneath a conscience blanket-opaque-obvious-clear surface and the river styx bows in my mind. rocky mountains and oceans thick-deep deviation seals decorum’s blade; sweet smiles and a comforting reminder: pinching out lingered flames. a naive hope for humanity, what’s on your mind today? a nihilistic breed of thoughts arising. 4 brain fog. mind in a steady decline paralleled to by Grace Perna body’s time i fought and i fought particle buzz. but i guess willpower isn’t enough. ring subtlety encompassing a medical anomaly and a scientific mystery, my brain my thoughts i have proven wrong pulsing my eyes shut. the conservation of energy. lagging fingers trip over these keys only autocorrect to save me. lost in surroundings, time waisted. a forgotten being in my own head. by Grace Perna the toaster pops and i scream in return; to fit or not to fit. numbers mixed and a blur ten thousand weighted oppressive ivory curtains blow incoherent words out a back’s check 10, 11, 12 hours of sleep and no prevail. fitting together like my parents at their confidence drapes awkwardly best. drips from the bones of the corpse staring in the post post era we love to ask awed never know what comes after this in fear in pain in tears in the mirror seeping in the cracks or soaring in the the reflection the external representation arteries that cannot possibly be me. snapping verbatim names tests boom and bust drive insanity through the dawn of an even more nihilistic age unfocused eyes; and we let our screams bring forth some too guilty to ask too masked to give in, semblance of meaning. the illusion of normalcy craving to be free flicking wrists bloody the mind’s eyes yearning desperately to scream at someone from such afar we fail to see who won’t understand the flavors of reality for no other reason than to over explain it snapping popping pop culture freak again. words drawn bleak and meaningless loss of identity through we’re such neat freaks. floating dashing piercing remnants of crystal bright bleeding vices in the night thoughts tape measure 21 not putting up any fight. 5 The Parallels of the Universe by Ishan Swali I am the giver of light, I am the taker of light, I am the giver of life I am the bringer of death I explode in a ball of light, I never blow, Boom Like a firework, I just continue to grow I send out light, I steal the light, Every single moment, Each and every single second I am the bringer of day and night, Endless nights, The giver of life. Ender of life I am the giver of light. I am the taker of light. I am a star. I am a void. Tiny Plane By Amelia Chee 6 Three Knocks By Ella White Void of color I dangle my feet over the side of the bed Seventeen years behind me Floor meeting bare feet Thinking about the past Ice I want my dad to carry me to my room after falling asleep on the couch Three steps to reach the door I want to make cookies with my mom I grasp the gold chipped door knob Laughing at all her funny jokes Twist I want to play house with my childhood best I stick my head into the hall friend Or what was once there We don’t even speak anymore Or whatever it is now Just a smile whenever we cross paths Hundreds of toys scattered here As a child And there All I wanted to do was grow up Piling up on a floor that isn’t there Whenever I dreamt of growing up Floating in the black void I would awake with a start Sun bleached Three knocks Broken Bring me out of my dreams of the future Forgotten And back to the present My old toys Action figures that my brother told me girls The knocks don’t scare me anymore don’t play with As they did when I was younger My pink bike covered with glitter that my They leave me feeling empty neighbor’s best friend teased me for riding Leaving an echo A blue Hot Wheels container with my An imprint favorite cars spilling out In my cold CD player faintly playing an old Taylor Swift Bare album Bedroom A glass room sits thirty feet away The night before graduation day Light bulb attached to the ceiling that never Four years ends and never begins Gone in a blink A string hangs down to turn the bulb on I think about college and off About the terrifying future ahead of me The knocks sound Trembling I shoot upright I turn around to return to my bedroom Palms sweaty Trying to regain familiarity in the red LED Something feels different lights But I haven’t felt anything in months The glow of the hallway is pitch black So why go back now? 7 I feel myself being drawn to the glass box I want her to cherish her childhood Now realizing Because growing up It resembles my childhood bedroom It’s a sickening feeling Bed pressed against the corner So I knock Taylor Swift posters hanging above my Three times head Night light illuminating the space I see myself Seven years old maybe A Nice Day Tangled hair by Akshi Patil Dad’s old t-shirt that I refused to sleep without I wake up to the sound of chirping birds. I get out of my comfortable bed. Above her head a scene is playing But they sound nothing like actual words. A dream I go and apply butter on my bread. She dreams of moving out Then I go and take a great big shower. Growing up I grab a comb to brush my messy hair. She wants nothing more than to be a big I walk outside to see the cute flower. kid I take a seat on an old rocking chair. Later, I decide to go for a walk. I need to get her attention The stench of the fresh cut grass fills the She’s far too young to want to think about air. the future All of a sudden I hear a loud squawk. She has so much to experience I wish it was a kind baby bear. To love If only all of these moments could stay So innocent Today I think it’s a wonderful day. So pure 8 Two Bad Choices by Nathan Brimhall Then there’s the second And final option: When given the choice between two To leave all that behind, wrongs, At the high price of pure loneliness. Which one would you take? Would you rather live poorer than poor Your father immigrated to El Otro Lado Or have no family or friends? To earn money to survive. Either he leaves you forever, There is a place called Iguala No goodbye ever said, Where life is than garbage. Or someday returns to bring you there. All trash lives in heaps and piles, It doesn’t matter if you stay or immigrate? Yet it can ride with the river . Your father changes into a new man or no It has no cares, no worries, no dreams, man — And no forgotten wishes — A new person who doesn’t know you.