Cover Credit: Spencer McGowan

Contributors: Myra Engle, Janna Smith, Jordan Karnyski, Spencer McGowan, Steven Andrew Lazickas, Gwyn Frederick, Rachel Cocca

Edited by Steven Andrew Lazickas

Volume IV Issue 13

Lucidity (The Simplicity of a Place to Sit)

Janna Smith

Let it be known,

There are places we will never cease to adore.

Whether it be under the stars,

In the tall jungle grasses,

In the arms of a lover or in the comfort of a rickety chair,

We associate these places with serenity.

It is peace, it is quiet,

It is enlightenment.

A place never recreated:

The simplicity of a place to sit.

Drawing by Myra Engle

Playground Swing’s Anxious Nostalgia in Which It Needs A Breeze

Myra Engle

Tushes’ playgrounds roundabout ready

for a warm playmate to jest along,

with rosy cheeks and a

soft dress to sooth

the restricted air

The Seat of Success

Steven Andrew Lazickas

This is a story about a time I was on the commode. No, not like that, you horrified prudes. I was just sitting there, with the lid still down and I was reading my favorite magazine. It had an interesting article about the specifics of a certain grammatical structure within the Romanian language. It was truly riveting, an idea struck me and I started to think: I do my best learning sitting on that porcelain throne. I decided that I would begin an experiment that to this day has proven extremely successful. See, this is basically what I did: I would come home after school and I would head immediately to the master bathroom. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, I did my homework on the toilet.

Now this caused problems, because my sisters needed to shower and my mom needed to powder her nose and my dad needed to do his business. But I had knowledge to gain! Who could blame me, when I was being so productive? My grades were going up, I was getting straight A’s and my tests all came back with a big fat 100% written across the top of the page. My math teacher was so surprised at my sudden understanding of algebra, she suspected me of cheating.

As the year went on, my GPA went up – I scored in higher percentiles than the valedictorian. My average was a 99.73% and I was seated for a good three hours after school on the john. Now you may all be thinking that this is ridiculous, and so did I. So to validate the experiment, I gave it a control – for two weeks I did not sit on the toilet to do my work after school. The results were atrocious, I went back to having a meager understanding of square roots and completing the square and I could hardly remember anything for my anatomy and physiology class. Then I asked my closest friend to try it out, with a full explanation so as to not sound weird. He also experienced a flux in his achievement: he even wrote a novella oozing with satire about Napoleon while also scoring much higher in school.

We were on the fast track to the top, but there was a schism in our latrine based success – the SAT came around and I suggested we bring in toilet seat lids I had purchased from a home improvement store. My friend declined the offer, thinking he could do well without it. I tried to explain to him that this was a test that could potentially mean getting accepted to colleges we never would have considered previously and he still thought he could do well without our porcelain friends. Well we went our separate ways, and I brought in my specialized seat to the standardized test – my math teacher proctored the exam, she pretended not to see it. I worked diligently, rearranging myself on my makeshift lavatory and finished the test feeling confident. Three weeks later, I got my score. I don’t mean to sound conceited, but I was not surprised when an email displaying a healthy 2400 appeared on my laptop screen whilst I was (like always) seated on the loo.

I graduated high school with honors, got a full ride to Brown, kept a 4.0 throughout my entire undergraduate and graduate career, earned a Ph. D. in Linguistics, and began work for an advertising firm to word their ads. Throughout the entire journey, my special friend has supported me tirelessly and without complaint. My new corner office has a brand new seat behind the desk, I had it installed myself. Its gleaming porcelain exterior, white with the purity of an open mind, glints with the light of success.

Loveseat

Jordan Karnyski

I've sat on beaches of pure white sand
Relaxing in the presence of a calypso band.
I've sat in train yards on steel rails
Listening to well-traveled men tell their tales.
I've sat on thrones of jewels and gold
Feasting with royalty, young and old.
I've sat on mountain tops and watched the sun rise
Feeling rays of sunshine while coming to realize,
I may have sat around the world
But I've concluded to decide:
There would be no place greater
Than a seat by your side.

The Ski Lift

Gwyn Frederick

Secret silence held in

The comfort of the bitter

Dry air plunged into the

Cracked negatives with degrees.

Over-clothed skin pressed

Against peeling iron that

Never leaves its place,

But is ever-moving to the top

And back down to the bottom.

Both are the destination,

But unlike most sayings,

The journey is not in the

Climb, but in the

Descent.

Here, Where I Sit

Rachel Cocca

that uneasiness

it is reflected here,

in this place of peace and joy.

where living things thrive

the sunflowers open wide,

soaking up rays,

my petals close in around me.

I know the light is there -

the warmth seeps in

and I know,

I will feel it some day.

Rock and

Roll

HEY YOU!

YES, YOU.

  • Do you like to write, draw, paint, ramble or rant?
  • Can you spell or at least kinda speel?
  • Do you like to write, or act moody while blankly staring at an empty notebook?
  • Are you a misunderstood intellectual?

Do YOU have a Voice?

-If you’re interested in joining the literary magazine for any reason (be it to ogle at Mr. Cummins every other Tuesday morning or to actually write), then please feel free to come to the next meeting on [insert meeting date here]!