Cover Photograph by Garrett Looney
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This month’s Editor Spotlight winner is…
Zoe Smith!
Letter from Editor
This photo was chosen because it is, quite literally, eye catching. I have always been interested in the aesthetic of eyes, and this photo is pleasing to look at to study an eye. The vibrancy of the iris is the first thing you notice. Then, there is the hint of mystery in the reflection to the eyes, persuading the viewer to draw conclusions about the meaning of the photo. Indeed, the greater meaning of the photo lies in the reflection, which makes it all the more alluring to study. Thank you for this beautiful photo.
Blast from the Past
I chose this poem because it reminds me of a day I went outside with my friends and ran around in the rain until we were soaking wet. It was a great time. At the same time we were soaking wet before a marching band rehearsal and we had to sit inside in soaking wet clothes and practice for 3 hours. There’s always a second side to a good moment.
-Dex Hooker
Looking Back
Ronni G. Nimps
What day was it
That we ran through the rain?
Coming inside all spattered and soaked,
Laughing at the world.
The day before the world fell down,
It was raining then too.
POEMS
The 2021 Spotify Wrapped was good, but...
By Evan Rinesmith
Crystalline Innamorato
By T.J. Shellenbarger
Would you leave me behind if you found another place to rest?
Is it really me you’ll find when you dig down, deep in your chest?
Jumping off the cliff, typically ends in the river below,
This poignant cliff has no water, yet you know you must go.
Once you take a step, there’s no turning back,
Even if it seems you’ve gotten knocked off track.
I am the one who’s been holding you behind,
Please, don’t be another prisoner of my mind.
My whole life has been a tale of wasted time,
When life rotted my lemons it replaced them with limes.
I can’t hold you to eat this moldy sour,
For we’re long past our golden hour.
The pain fades in time, dwindles to a dull ember,
Only a single thought of me, on the first snowfall in December.
Out on the Ice
By Carson Stewart
I began to climb the hill of snow
Bringing with me all I know
What lied at the top, I didn’t know
I still now am not sure
There lay before a field of ice
People so far away, they were grains of rice
If they were to fall they would pay the price
And they would not live to regret it
The scene was somehow familiar to me
As if once again I could see
The fate that was destined to be
Out on the ice
My mind was full with fear dread
These emotion could control my head
If I went on the ice, surely I was dead
But I still went out alone
I held a rock in my hand
As if I could crush it to sand
I felt that I could barely stand
And I prepared myself for death
I could end it all with this stone
This could be my way to atone
I could drown out here all alone
And the water would wash the pain away
But I could not use the stone for this
Even if it would bring eternal bliss
For those that I know I would miss
And for them, I threw the stone away
I walked back down the hill of snow
Taking from all that I now know
And now I am determined to grow
Away from the ice
Outside and In the Cave
By T.J. Shellenbarger
Upon my attempt to classify thee, I reasoned a crucial flaw,
The classification of which, left unto me, veritably cannot be done at all.
For I cannot denote that which I have not seen,
Even if ‘tis all but shadows upon the wall; it’s serene.
Should my head be turned round, nor then would I frown,
Rather, sit quietly, and be thankful to have seen the sun go down.
May it be, I’ve never seen a true hue of green,
Towards the fern my gaze is fixed, unconditionally keen.
At 4am
By Evan Rinesmith
As I Left My Self
By T.J. Shellenbarger
The sky smiles at me with flowing white teeth.
The whippoorwill chatters as life speaks to me.
Feet once planted firm, swallowed wholly beneath;
Existence painfully fades away, I can no longer see.
I, am no more, I once laid dying,
Reality then kissed my soul, at once stopped its crying.
Now waltzing in space, here, to forever reside.
I have not once, been so happy, as the day that I died.
The Job of a Poet
By Evan Rinesmith
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2021/22 AVATAR STAFF
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