DigitalCommons@C.O.D.

Littlefield, Nicole

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 42 Number 2 Article 37 
Spring 5-1-2020 
Uncomfortably Aware 
Nicole Littlefield 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Littlefield, Nicole (2020) "Uncomfortably Aware," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 42 : No. 2 , Article 37. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol42/iss2/37 
This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It 
has been accepted for inclusion in The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For 
more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu. 
Uncomfortably Aware                                          Nicole Littlefield
You have made me uncomfortably aware of my movements.
Of my leg bouncing up and down,
Up and down,
Up and down,
Rapidly like a jackhammer drilling away at cement.
Of my foot tap, tap, tapping.
Tap, tap, tapping,
Tap, tap, tapping 
A rhythmic sound.
Of the way, I sway my legs while sitting
Cross-legged with knees bang
Bang 
Banging
Up against each other.
Like an endless parade but
The only instruments are the cymbals.
You have made me aware 
Of the way, my nose moves when I talk.
Only slightly but enough to be noticeable.
Like a chipmunk.
Or a squirrel.
Or a mouse.
You made me aware of the way 
I cannot stand, 
Or sit, still.
The way I bend my knees while standing 
In a way 
That makes me go 
Up and down 
Up and down
Up and down like an endless seesaw
Of the way I sway
When I am sitting 
Like Newton’s cradle 
Back and forth 
Back and forth 
Back and forth 
Just because I’m bored 
I have nothing better to do
Of the way, I play with my lanyard
Or the hair tie on my wrist 
Or the string hanging off my sweatshirt
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Littlefield: Uncomfortably Aware
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My phalanges intertwining with the string 
My finger going
Round and round 
Round and round
Round and round
Maybe they are nervous habits
Or just something I need to do
I really don’t know how but
You have made me uncomfortably aware of my movements.
Dancing Light                                       Nataliya Blackhall
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The Prairie Light Review, Vol. 42, No. 2 [2020], Art. 37
https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol42/iss2/37


English

Uncomfortably Aware

Przybysz, Madelene

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 42 Number 2 Article 44 
Spring 5-1-2020 
Bed of Soil 
Madelene Przybysz 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Przybysz, Madelene (2020) "Bed of Soil," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 42 : No. 2 , Article 44. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol42/iss2/44 
This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It 
has been accepted for inclusion in The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For 
more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu. 
Bed of Soil                                            Madelene Przybysz
Come find me here upon the ground
    With bones, hollow and breaking
 With a heart, crying and aching
 There is no use for standing.
 I am here 
 and 
 I am cold.
Gazing up but seeping through the cracks below.
Come find me here,
 Half old and decaying
 A hole in my ribcage 
 Where maggots grow
In the soft sweet soil, I make my bed
 Returning to the earth
 From where I began.
Come find me here upon this land
 Where nothing is lost, and nothing will end.
  For here I am,
  Here I will stay,
If you choose to look for me now,
Come find me here upon the living ground.  
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Przybysz: Bed of Soil
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Bed of Soil

Vali, Aleksandra

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 43 Number 1 Article 21 
Fall 12-1-2020 
The Moment of Illusion 
Aleksandra Vali 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Vali, Aleksandra (2020) "The Moment of Illusion," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 43 : No. 1 , Article 21. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol43/iss1/21 
This Artwork is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It 
has been accepted for inclusion in The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For 
more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu. 
Life’s Splash 
Jerry Schurmeier
The Moment of Illusion
Aleksandra Vali
14
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Vali: The Moment of Illusion
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The Moment of Illusion

Meinhart, Dan

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 43 Number 1 Article 32 
Fall 12-1-2020 
Untitled 
Dan Meinhart 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Meinhart, Dan (2020) "Untitled," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 43 : No. 1 , Article 32. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol43/iss1/32 
This Artwork is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It 
has been accepted for inclusion in The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For 
more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu. 
Untitled                                                                                Dan Meinhart
27
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Meinhart: Untitled
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Untitled

Kagin, Ethan

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 43 Number 1 Article 36 
Fall 12-1-2020 
T-Rex Bones 
Ethan Kagin 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Kagin, Ethan (2020) "T-Rex Bones," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 43 : No. 1 , Article 36. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol43/iss1/36 
This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It 
has been accepted for inclusion in The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For 
more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu. 
T-Rex Bones
Ancient bodies in the cold hard ground
A beast, a monster, a fallen dragon
Dead from the perils of the past
When else has death brought such joy,
Than T-Rex bones to a small boy?
It’s no beast, to him, at least
To the boy it’s only his friend
Ethan Kagin
Untitled                                                                               Jada Kline 31 1
Kagin: T-Rex Bones
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T-Rex Bones

Blake, Devon

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 43 Number 1 Article 44 
Fall 12-1-2020 
Hog-Tied 
Devon Blake 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Blake, Devon (2020) "Hog-Tied," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 43 : No. 1 , Article 44. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol43/iss1/44 
This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It 
has been accepted for inclusion in The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For 
more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu. 
Hog-Tied                                                                           Devon Blake
               The five of them eyed one another. What now? The 
thought rolled through each of their minds.  Eloise bit her 
nails and stared with her doughy brown eyes at the garage 
door. Chapman attempted to return his focus to the video 
game he was once playing, but his fingers only moved with 
half of his usual fervor. Paul, his hands intertwined, tasseled 
his dirty blonde hair as if creating as much friction as possible 
would stimulate his brain to think faster. Meanwhile, Marc 
couldn’t hold his tongue any longer.
                     “Bryce, this is all your fault. Fix it!” Marc stood at a 
whopping six foot six but seemed taller as he loomed over 
Bryce. Bryce shrugged his shoulders and grabbed the pack of 
cigarettes off the mantle.
               “Whatever…I supply a service. One you seem to enjoy a 
lot too, Marc. Huh? So, shut up with that blame game— we’re 
in this shit together.”  Bryce patted his pockets, “Eloise!” he 
snapped, “Where’s the lighter?”
                       Eloise had bit her thumbnail so far down that it 
began to bleed and was sucking on the wounded digit as if 
she were a toddler.  Her eyes, usually full of carefree spirit, 
were lachrymose and about to overflow. She was not sure 
how she had gotten there or to whom her allegiance should 
belong. Bryce, her boyfriend, had more than his fair share of 
shortcomings. He was arrogant and reckless, full of pride, and 
low on love.  Yet, Eloise was drawn immeasurably to him…
usually. Tonight though – that attraction waned.  Survival of 
the fittest, she thought to herself.
               “I dunno where the DAMN lighter is and I don’t care!” 
She surprised herself with the unusually bold outburst and 
the men snapped to attention. No one had ever heard Eloise 
talk back to Bryce, let alone yell at him. “We have a freaking 
human being tied up in our fucking garage!” She burst 
into tears and ran into the bedroom she shared with Bryce, 
slamming the door on her way.
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Blake: Hog-Tied
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    “Shit…what the hell man?” Paul shook his head and stared 
at his roommates. “We can’t just leave him in there. I mean…
at some point we’ve got to let him go. He’s messed up now 
but he is going to sober up and then…then what the hell are 
we going to do?” Paul collapsed on the sofa, head held in his 
hands as he considered praying, but then wondered if God 
would even care.
               Bryce picked up the video game controller Chapman 
had given up on and began to play; Marc’s rage building 
exponentially as he watched. Taking only two steps to cross 
the entire room, Marc lurched at Bryce grabbing the controller 
and throwing it into the unlit fireplace. Paul and Chapman 
sprang into action, each grabbing one of the two other men 
and held them apart from the inevitable brawl.
               “Slow your roll Marky-Marc! You don’t want none of 
this bro!” Bryce shrugged Paul off of his shoulders and backed 
away from the group. “Look, okay, this might be on me. But 
regardless, before tonight all of you were happy and satisfied 
customers. It’s not my fault that ass over there,” he motioned 
to the garage, “can’t handle his fucking blow.”
               Just then Eloise walked through the living room without 
pause, not looking at any of the men, opened the garage door, 
and turned on the light. Before anyone had time to react, 
they heard the click of the door locking. Bryce slithered past 
a very heated Marc and towards the door, jiggling the handle 
for entry. When the door refused to open, he looked back 
sheepishly at Paul who offered immediate reassurance that 
it was fine, after all, Eloise was not going to do anything. She 
knew better than to untie a drug-crazed lunatic…didn’t she?
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The Prairie Light Review, Vol. 43, No. 1 [2020], Art. 44
https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol43/iss1/44
               Before the men could hypothesize further about what 
Eloise was actually doing, she reappeared through the garage 
door. She stood there so eerily calm that for a moment she 
seemed like a phantom version of herself. Her hair was matted 
against her face and sticky with a dark sludge, her bowed legs 
and extenuated arms emphasized her frail frame, and her eyes 
were grotesquely dilated so much that they appeared pitch 
black. The men let their focus fall upon the dripping blade in 
her right hand.  
               “Eloise?” Paul asked as he approached her, “Are you 
ok? Where did that knife come from?” He reached his hand 
out slowly towards her but Eloise did not budge. She looked 
down at the knife as if she had seen it for the first time, smiled 
then looked Paul right in his baby blues.
                       “It’s from the kitchen drawer, duh. I solved our 
problem.” Her eyes now  aglow and lips smirked with sincere 
satisfaction, “He won’t cause any more issues for us, no one 
will know about what goes on here. See… I fixed it.” She 
looked back at the garage and sighed, partially in relief but 
also in exasperation as the men were not half as pleased as 
she thought they should be; she had saved them all. Eloise 
returned her gaze to her brethren and then continued with 
her thoughts. “Now – all we need is some pigs,” she giggled.
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Blake: Hog-Tied
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Hog-Tied

DeBoni, Ninetta

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 43 Number 1 Article 50 
Fall 12-1-2020 
Heat Haze 
Ninetta DeBoni 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
DeBoni, Ninetta (2020) "Heat Haze," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 43 : No. 1 , Article 50. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol43/iss1/50 
This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It 
has been accepted for inclusion in The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For 
more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu. 
Heat Haze
It is July 8th,
the peak of Summer’s heat
and my grandmother’s garden is still fertile, fruiting;
forgiving when she forgets to water the leaves of green
that reach up, thirsting for the Sun.
She asks me if I want a Coke
and when I say no, she insists. 
At least she can still water me,
sweeten me into staying longer
than the drying plants on her patio.
Condensation gathers at the can’s curves,
kisses my fingers wet and cool
until Summer’s heat feels miles away.
Until I forget the garden, remember only the flowers,
remember when she could remember.
Remember when she didn’t forget to water leaves of green
that reach up, thirsting for the Sun.
Strange how too much of a good thing can kill you, flowers,
like too much Coca-Cola rots the teeth;
like when we remind her that she already took her pills for today,
that doubling up can be dangerous.
Forgetting can be dangerous.
Too much water can kill you too, flowers,
isn’t that strange?
My grandmother asks after the weather for the fifth time, 
asks if it will rain and drown the buds in her garden.
For the fifth time I tell her not to worry 
and I decide to stay with her
a little bit longer.
Ninetta DeBoni
50
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DeBoni: Heat Haze
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Heat Haze

Waters, Jim

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 43 Number 1 Article 56 
Fall 12-1-2020 
JC 
Jim Waters 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Waters, Jim (2020) "JC," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 43 : No. 1 , Article 56. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol43/iss1/56 
This Artwork is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It 
has been accepted for inclusion in The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For 
more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu. 
Oatmeal
Each bite takes me closer to paradise
A paradise that stands upon an altar
Of toothless worship and thickened praise
Topped with a tiara of melted miniature
Chocolate kisses and a throne of holy artificial
Frivolous fruit-filled pastry 
Knowing that this may be the only meal that
I will ever eat for breakfast for the rest of my life
I submerge my sacred spoon into the depths
Of a sludgy swamp overflowing with warmth
That burns my heart out until it drowns in heat
And my nose has to use the bathroom
Joseph Krebaum
JC                                                                                                   Jim Waters
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Waters: JC
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Fernbach, Alex

Show Me the Money: An Inside Look Into the World of Sports Agency

Lemna minor, a floating aquatic plant, was used in the investigation to study growth rates of Lemna minor exposed to two abiotic factors, salt and fertilizer. Its rapid reproduction makes it suitable for laboratory experiments studying growth patterns. Samples of Lemna minor were cultured into treatment groups, one with salt solution and other with fertilizer, and were compared to the control group. Growth rate in each group was determined by the average number of fronds produced in test tubes for each experimental group. The results of mean frond growth were plotted against time to figure out the rate of growth in each experimental growth. There was a significant reduced growth in the group under salt stress, compared to control; Lemna minor grown with fertilizer had similar rates as compared to control group. The experimental data was also fitted to a logistic curve in order to determine the accuracy of results.
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