DigitalCommons@C.O.D.

Mandani, Abdul

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 42 Number 1 Article 50 
Fall 12-1-2019 
Vain Pursuit 
Abdul Mandani 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Mandani, Abdul (2019) "Vain Pursuit," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 42 : No. 1 , Article 50. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol42/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. 
Vain Pursuit 
Nursing self-delusion
Nurturing perfection
Chasing ideals
Patronizing risks
Tempting fate
Weaving dreams…
Oh, am I being 
driven into a quandary
wandering lost 
in the realm of  insanity?
Then farewell my deceitful mind,
It’s vain and fruitless to lament
which stings the soul,
when no hope 
nor faith yield their fruit,
Why then wallow in regret? 
Abdul Mandani
42
1
Mandani: Vain Pursuit
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2019


English

Vain Pursuit

Zilius, Eleanor

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 42 Number 1 Article 56 
Fall 12-1-2019 
My Last Crowdfund 
Eleanor Zilius 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Zilius, Eleanor (2019) "My Last Crowdfund," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 42 : No. 1 , Article 56. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol42/iss1/56 
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. 
My Last Crowdfund
The world has taken a bite out of  me
like the apple I discarded last week.
I’m fine for now but soon the maggots will come,
and I’m scared
of  what they might do.
The doctors can fill my empty space 
for a “low” price with one too many zeros on the wrong side of  the decimal place. 
A mandatory surgery, I thought, 
but the permanent loss of  that part is quite common,
Survivable.
“It isn’t covered,” the insurance man said,
“Bet you wish the world got you at a different angle.”
Please donate to my medical expenses
I’ve attached the link below
Eleanor Zilius
Lost Memories. Joey Aquino, Digital Art
47
1
Zilius: My Last Crowdfund
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2019


My Last Crowdfund

Aquino, Joey

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 42 Number 1 Article 57 
Fall 12-1-2019 
Lost Memories 
Joey Aquino 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Aquino, Joey (2019) "Lost Memories," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 42 : No. 1 , Article 57. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol42/iss1/57 
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. 
My Last Crowdfund
The world has taken a bite out of  me
like the apple I discarded last week.
I’m fine for now but soon the maggots will come,
and I’m scared
of  what they might do.
The doctors can fill my empty space 
for a “low” price with one too many zeros on the wrong side of  the decimal place. 
A mandatory surgery, I thought, 
but the permanent loss of  that part is quite common,
Survivable.
“It isn’t covered,” the insurance man said,
“Bet you wish the world got you at a different angle.”
Please donate to my medical expenses
I’ve attached the link below
Eleanor Zilius
Lost Memories. Joey Aquino, Digital Art
47
1
Aquino: Lost Memories
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2019


Lost Memories

Makowski, Ray

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 42 Number 1 Article 73 
Fall 12-1-2019 
Her Ringtone Used To Be Seagulls 
Ray Makowski 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Makowski, Ray (2019) "Her Ringtone Used To Be Seagulls," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 42 : No. 1 , 
Article 73. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol42/iss1/73 
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. 
Her Ringtone Used to be Seagulls  
Because she chased the beach,
seashell wallpaper trim discarded,
boxed away
and never quite put up like it was supposed to.
Her ringtone used to be seagulls,
but that was years ago before she switched phones
and the seagulls never quite made it back.
The whole house was supposed to be nautical-themed,
but I took down the old ship’s wheel clock missing its batteries
and the maps of  the world never made it out of  the bathrooms.
She still loves the beach,
still flies a thousand miles just for the sand
she collects with the seashells
in old jars and containers.
Her ringtone used to be seagulls,
and I used to have a dozen different associations of  “mom”
whose only fatal flaws were being from a younger me,
and dad moved out last year after the basement tiles finally went in
and fifteen years of  house makes carpet and tile two different shades of  blue.
My house is a world of  unfinished projects,
some put on hold for a baby born eighteen years ago
and never started again,
and some of  them are the jean jacket I patched the hole in
and never decided what to put on the back of.
Ray Makowski
64
1
Makowski: Her Ringtone Used To Be Seagulls
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2019


Her Ringtone Used To Be Seagulls

Grey, John

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 42 Number 1 Article 77 
Fall 12-1-2019 
Benita 
John Grey 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Grey, John (2019) "Benita," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 42 : No. 1 , Article 77. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol42/iss1/77 
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. 
Benita
Sun reaches a place
where a pillow turns into a mop
of  graying hair
and knows it has arrived
at Benita,
creates a quiet threshold
between sleep and waking.
Dominated by dark brown eyes
and cheeks the color of  dried earth,
she is the eternal woman,
risen each day
from the ruins of  dreams.
(specimen unfurling, scentless phial,
star trapped in an artificiality,
year by year, analogies,
who knows how old she is,
picking pears, trailing shadows,
drought and flood
pencil-marked on walls,
glowing inflorescent, imbricate,
drowning in a spit’s embrace,
all of  creation, every unknown force,
streaming electrodes,
apples, roses, everywhere
and they owe it all to her,
like red earth itself,
branches that bear fruit,
streaks and drifts, winter’s debauchery,
family names as sticky as resin,
windows blaze, forms remain,
they’ve kept themselves, like her,
lilies in a long vase,
globes, relics, leaf  veins, cobwebs,
here, in a glass,
the drops of  last night’s wine,
implicit in her understanding,
if  soil, of  time, of  planted seed
and warm reactor core)
In frozen space,
she retains something
of  her splendor.
John Grey
68
1
Grey: Benita
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2019


Benita

Sikorski, Mary

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 42 Number 1 Article 82 
Fall 12-1-2019 
Neverland 
Mary Sikorski 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Sikorski, Mary (2019) "Neverland," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 42 : No. 1 , Article 82. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol42/iss1/82 
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. 
     The tension disappeared from Andrew’s shoulders and he smiled 
down at the woman before him with reckless familiarity. The warmth 
between them over-shone the July heat. Elise led him back to the 
house, where her bags were packed to go. That night Robert would 
come home to an empty house, and all that would be waiting for him 
was an empty bed, a diamond ring, and a note explaining that his wife 
had run away with the gardener. 
Olivia Voegtle
Neverland. Mary Sikorski, Digital Art
73
1
Sikorski: Neverland
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2019


Neverland

DeBoni, Ninetta

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 42 Number 1 Article 83 
Fall 12-1-2019 
Love Language 
Ninetta DeBoni 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
DeBoni, Ninetta (2019) "Love Language," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 42 : No. 1 , Article 83. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol42/iss1/83 
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. 
Love Language
My astrological star sign is Taurus.
And for those of  you with functioning social lives,
That simply means that food
Is my love language.
Speak to me in tones of  Italian linguini
Stewed to steaming, simmering perfection
With a side of  lemon seared scallops.
Did you know shellfish is an aphrodisiac?
Show me Spanish root words grilled to impeccable char,
Picked, pickled peppers spread on tortillas
Roll-off my tongue smooth as salsa verde and just as authentic;
I hope you can stomach my spiced passion.
I am fluent in flavor,
Can detect notes of  burnt deception in undertones of  basil,
And I am not scared to send your plateful of  loving lies back to the kitchen
Because dishonesty is not what I ordered.
Food is the first linguistics class I ever took,
Taught by my mother and a rubber spoon
Topped with mushy peas and self-respect turned slob on my bib;
I guess some love is harder to swallow than others.
Now I am a Taurus full and
Brimming and speaking between spoonfuls of  affection.
Forkfuls of  feasts overflow my heart’s mixing bowl
As you add the ingredients for admiration;
But just because my language is a mess, often misspelled,
There is no excuse for spilling your sugar in haste.
If  you don’t understand what I am saying, don’t make waste.
I do not want to broil in a love gone unseasoned.
If  you want to learn my native speech,
Do not pour yourself  out all at once.
Love me slowly, savor me, fold me gently
Like butter in cream for the frosting sweetness you so desire.
If  the heat is too high too soon,
The flames may devour me before you get the chance to taste.
Even the lightest and loveliest loaves of  bread
Must first rise to the occasion.
74
1
DeBoni: Love Language
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2019
When the oven is set and apron donned,
Let me bake in your warmth, expand beyond the pan.
As long as you forget me not,
I believe we shall turn out just fine.
For I am Taurus
And that means food is my love language.
The culinary jargon is meticulous to decipher
But loving me to well-done perfection is well worth the time.
Ninetta DeBoni
Chelsea Market. Rae Crawford, Digital Art.
75
2
The Prairie Light Review, Vol. 42, No. 1 [2019], Art. 83
https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol42/iss1/83


Love Language

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 42 Number 1 Article 88 
Fall 12-1-2019 
Gratitude 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
(2019) "Gratitude," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 42 : No. 1 , Article 88. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol42/iss1/88 
This Back Matter 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. 
Gratitude
The team at Prairie Light Review is grateful for the support of  Dr. Brian Caputo, Dr. Mark Curtis-
Chavez, Dr. Diana Del Rosario, Dean Sandra Martins, and Dean Chuck Boone. The finished 
product of  this journal would have been impossible if  not for the unwavering support of  our faculty, 
who encourage students to revise and submit their submissions! Much thanks to Chuck Steele, 
Shannon Hernandez, Jelymar Mejia, Nicole Plumtree, Sandra Gonzalez, and the Office of  Student 
Life for their support and assistance with publicity as well as Jennifer Duda. Additional gratitude 
is due to Karen Kuhn, Cathie Walker, Paula Burns, the Budilovsky family, Joseph Campbell, and 
Joshua Johnson. We are so grateful to the talented in dividuals at Alpha Graphics in Lisle, and 
especially to Doug Wade and Bailey Kovac, without whom this would be impossible.
Colophon
Twice a year, College of  DuPage invites all COD students, faculty and staff, as well as the entiriety 
of  District 502 to submit original literature and artwork for publication in the community liberal arts 
journal, The Prairie Light Review. This year The Prairie Light Review accepted works of  original 
fiction, nonfiction, essays, drama, poetry, graphic essays, photography, and 2D or 3D artwork of  
any medium to be considered for publication. Students enrolled in English 2210 worked as student 
editors to read and evaluate all submissions through a fair and anonymous system of  evaluation. 
The class was guided by our faculty advisor, Adam Fotos, who oversees class proceedings, leads 
hiring decisions of  class officers, and advises on creative and technical decisions of  all varieties. 
Throughout the semester, our officers-Editor in Chief, Production Editor, and Marketing Editor- 
serve pertinent roles in ensuring the quality of  our publication. Our Marketing Editor manages all of  
our social media and communiy connections, ensuring that the public is aware of  the opportunities 
available to them, and the details of  upcoming events. The Production Editor creates the overall 
design of  the journal, deciding formatting, color scheme, piece placement, and other technical 
decisions. The Editor in Chief  supervises all operations of  the team, makes executive decisions on 
submissions, and advises Assistant Editors in their work. Final edits are approved by our entire team 
before the finished publication is sent to the printers.
Cover: 80 Pound Matte Paperstock.
Design: Adobe Photoshop CC 2015.5, Adobe InDesign cs6, Adobe Illustrator cs6. Composed on a 
custom Apple Workstation.
Finance and Operation: the publication is funded through College of  DuPage’s Student Life.
Publishing: AlphaGraphics, Lisle, Illinois.
Paperstock: 70 pound Matte Paperstock.
Photography: All photography in this magazine is provided by residents of  District 502.
Background texture for druid note: Renee Robinson,  flickr.com/photos/playingwithpsp/2583644089
Typography: Baskerville, Bodoni Caps 72. All Fonts are open source and free to use, or paid for by 
Student Life.
80
1
et al.: Gratitude
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2019


Gratitude

ESSAI 
Volume 17 Article 39 
Spring 2019 
Tribute to Faculty 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai 
Recommended Citation 
(2019) "Tribute to Faculty," ESSAI: Vol. 17 , Article 39. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol17/iss1/39 
This Back Matter is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. 
It has been accepted for inclusion in ESSAI by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more 
information, please contact orenick@cod.edu. 
128 
Tribute to Faculty 
 
We warmly pay tribute to all submitting instructors, past and present. 
Their dedicated and inspired teaching has contributed to 
the successful publication of their students’ work 
in ESSAI Volume I through Volume XVII. 
 
Deborah Adelman 
Scott Albert 
Jim Allen 
Kathleen Altman 
E. Bates 
Patty Benson 
Raymond Benson 
Brian Blevins 
Scott Boyd 
Franz Burnier 
Allan Carter 
Tom Carter 
Nancy Conradt 
Trisha DeWitt 
Sue Dreghorn 
Barbara Eaton 
Linda Elaine 
Helen Feng 
Clarice Foland 
Aleksandra Galus 
Bob Georgalas 
Julie Gibbs 
Gloria Golec 
Jeanne Grogan 
Ida Hagman 
Naheed Hasan 
Lisa Higgins 
Connie C. Howard 
Bill Hussong 
Richard Jarman 
Ellen C. K. Johnson 
Daniel Kies 
Beth Kirkpatrick 
Dennis Korneff 
Kristopher Kowal 
Keith Krasemann 
Chikako D. Kumamoto 
Deb Lantermo 
Hina Latif 
David Leary 
Freyda Libman 
Lynn Mackenzie 
Sarah Magin 
James M. Magrini 
Heather Maher 
Anne C. Malone 
Nicole Matos 
Jackie McGrath 
Elizabeth McGuan 
Samuel Mitrani 
Christine Monnier 
Michelle Moore 
Katie Nagel 
Nick Obradovich 
Karen Persky 
Chris Petersen 
Kamelia Popova 
Loretta Pyrdek 
Eva Maria Raepple 
Lynda Randa 
Kent Richter 
Carol Riphenburg 
Maria Ritzema 
Shamili Sandiford 
John Santiago 
Steve Schroeder 
Hema Shende 
Dale Simpson 
Jason Snart 
Alice Snelgrove 
Trina Sotirakopulos 
Susan Stamler 
Lois Stanciak 
Jodi Stapleton 
Carol Strelczyk 
Kathleen Szeszol 
Thomas Tallman 
Tom Tipton 
Beth Vlad 
Diane Wawrejko 
Ben Whisenhunt 
Liz Whiteacre 
James Wies 
Keith Yearman 
1
et al.: Tribute to Faculty
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2019


Tribute to Faculty

https://dc.cod.edu/ilccoer2018images/1003/thumbnail.jp

College of DuPage

Not a member yet