DigitalCommons@C.O.D.

Gonzalez, Estefania

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 38 | Number 2 Article 60
Spring 5-1-2016
Helen
Estefania Gonzalez
College of DuPage
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Recommended Citation
Gonzalez, Estefania (2016) "Helen," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 38: No. 2, Article 60.
Available at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol38/iss2/60
Laura
Masonite
Mary Yezek
To the morning star 
and the haunted woods 
To the gates ahead 
and through fi elds of thorns 
In fi re I have traveled 
from a bleeding wound 
Th rough a French child’s eyes 
and a gentle hand 
 
From the darkest ends of hatred 
I forgave the reeds by the river 
though their kind touch was never present 
Th eir arms did nothing but push me into deep water 
But it is you my morning star 
in whom I've found hope 
Knowing that light is living 
and happiness can be found in darkness 
Th ough my brush cannot capture you 
all I am able is a shadow of your true beauty 
If you could but be here now my dear friend 
how you would smile and laugh 
 
Although time has passed 
I expect you would most love the spring 
So like you in so many ways 
Aft er a long winter you were my revival 
like fresh rain 
You brought out my leaves 
You put pigment in my fl owers 
You unfroze the glacier of my heart 
You who fearlessly faced the end 
no regrets and yet so little 
so young with so much ahead 
Only to be taken too soon 
your light may have faded from this world 
but you are shining elsewhere 
even brighter than ever before.
Helen
Estefania Gonzalez
Spring 2016 511
Gonzalez: Helen
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2015


English

Helen

Kotyuk, Ida

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 38 | Number 2 Article 65
Spring 5-1-2016
Looking for van Gogh'sBedroom
Ida Kotyuk
College of DuPage
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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
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Recommended Citation
Kotyuk, Ida (2016) "Looking for van Gogh'sBedroom," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 38: No. 2, Article 65.
Available at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol38/iss2/65
Ida Kotyuk's "Looking for van Gogh's Bedroom" is the 
winner in creative non-fi ction of the College of DuPage 
2016 Writers Read: Emerging Voices contest, held to 
showcase emerging voices in our community.
       Bedrooms are a place for privacy. It's where we do and act out our most per-
sonal and intimate moments as well as a place for comfort and rest. I never had a 
desire to paint my bedrooms (my sanctuaries) as I moved from place to place. A 
friend once photographed me in my current bedroom peeking out from behind 
my open bookcase. To reveal what my bedroom looks like, even aft er the bed has 
been made and the room dusted; for me, it would be full frontal nudity. 
       But I became obsessed with van Gogh's bedroom years ago when it was on 
exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago. Th e moment I stood in front of his paint-
ing—something happened. I had to have a copy for myself. I went looking for 
either a poster, which they did not have, or a postcard. I bought two postcards, 
one for my studio and one for my home. Th ose postcards shared my life for years 
following me from studio to studio and the other from apartments-to- home. 
Th ey were always up on a wall where I could see them. What did his bedroom 
have that mine never did?
       I can't remember all my bedrooms; though, I remember my fi rst one, the 
house I lived in until I was 12-years-old. I remember sky-blue walls, and imag-
ined the room was huge. Years later I saw that room again with its single twin 
bed, one thin pillow, and a narrow chest of drawers. Th ere wasn't even room for a 
mirror. 
       My second bedroom was smaller yet. It didn't have a chest of drawers, only 
the single twin and one pillow. My parents carved a large kitchen into three 
rooms which became a kitchen and two bedrooms; a bedroom for me and anoth-
er for my brother. My bedroom had two outside walls and was always cold during 
the winter and my mother froze our left over meals under my bed. 
       In college dorm rooms I slept in a bunk bed and, luckily, I usually got the 
bottom. When I moved into a furnished bedroom off  campus, that was only a 
place to rest my head—aft er parties and maybe studying. No. I never studied in 
my college dorm or apartment, not when libraries were the social place to study.
       From college I moved to Chicago and lived for a year or two in a girls' club 
called, "Th e Eleanor Club." (I am still friends with a number of those "girls" to-
day.) Th at room with its single twin bed at least had a sink and mirror. But again, 
it was only a place to rest my head—aft er parties.
Looking for van Gogh's Bedroom
Ida Kotyuk
Prairie Light Review56 1
Kotyuk: Looking for van Gogh'sBedroom
Published by Di italCommons@COD, 2015
       As I moved again and again, my bedrooms got larger, but still a single twin 
and that one thin pillow. I guess I loved to cuddle. Again, no mirror, (van Gogh 
had a mirror in his bedroom and I often wondered if that was a European thing). 
Instead I filled my bedrooms with books—mystery books, lots of them. I mean 
lots. 
       I never gave a thought to my bedrooms and what they looked like. They were 
a place to read for a few minutes until I was sleepy. I would close my eyes and 
wake up the next day. Who cared what came after washing my face, brushing my 
teeth, and falling asleep. That is, I didn't care until I stood in front of van Gogh's 
painting and had to own that copy. 
       I once came across W.H. Auden's poem titled "Musee des Beaux Arts," 
describing Peter Brueghel's painting, "The Fall of Icarus." I understood Auden's 
obsession. Like Auden's moment before Brueghel's painting, I stood before my 
van Gogh's postcard and slowly came to know the artist, Vincent. 
       Artists say the thrill of observation has no equal. There are many reasons to 
see an original painting. In art history classes I looked at projected slide images 
40 feet wide on auditorium screens, or the same image four inches wide in art 
books, and today three inches wide on a computer screen (or full screen, depend-
ing on the size of my computer). Distorted images create distorted perceptions. 
Colors or the energy of a brush are not authentic to the original painting because 
no book or internet image captures Vincent's ability to take the ordinary and 
create something extraordinary. 
       I wanted to understand the artist who painted a bedroom filled with sunlight, 
who scrupulously realized his sensations. Painters, previous to van Gogh (and 
then later photographers), were concerned with giving a permanent form to the 
ephemeral; that is, artists made our ever changing landscapes—static. A bedroom 
does not move in the conventional sense but changes constantly in other ways—
notably through light. 
       Vincent understood the specific quality of his light that fell on a specific place 
at a specific moment. His bedroom was not a fixed and solid sculpture but an 
insubstantial image, as transient as his light that continually redefined it. For van 
Gogh, this brilliant technique to capture light, scrape it off the objects onto his 
palette, nothing less would be adequate to describe his subject.
       As I slowly understood van Gogh's bedroom painting, I began to understand 
who I was. It is the artist and not what the bedroom holds. If that had been my 
bedroom my eyes would have seen only shabbiness. I, the poorer artist, unable 
to take three primary colors red, blue, and yellow and paint a room filled with 
sunlight, a metaphor for Vincent's light heart in 1889, the year before he commit-
ted suicide. 
       Pardon me while I go and set up my easel in my bedroom.
Spring 2016 572
The Prairie Light Review, Vol. 38 [2015], No. 2, Art. 65
http://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol38/iss2/65


Looking for van Gogh\u27sBedroom

Kennedy, Maggie

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 38 | Number 2 Article 76
Spring 5-1-2016
ICICLES
Maggie Kennedy
College of DuPage
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Recommended Citation
Kennedy, Maggie (2016) "ICICLES," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 38: No. 2, Article 76.
Available at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol38/iss2/76
Serrated swords, 
jagged knives of ice, 
drip in the morning sun, 
and in their dripping grow. 
 
Heroes are the ones  
who both remember and 
forget, Baldwin wrote. 
The body learns early, 
melting burns more.
ICICLES
Maggie Kennedy
Deep freeze. 
A lone dove slices 
through the silence. 
Somewhere the sun 
peeks through.
  
The icicles begin 
their dripping, and in 
their dripping grow, 
drip by drip, each 
melting marked by a ring, 
like a tree adds girth, 
until they grow immense, 
perilous daggers of light 
threatening to crash of their own scars.
Water Vessel
Glazed stoneware
Marge Dady
Spring 2016 651
Kennedy: ICICLES
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2015


ICICLES

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 39 | Number 1 Article 5
Fall 12-1-2016
prairie light review editorial team
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This Prefatory Note 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 koteles@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
(2016) "prairie light review editorial team," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 39 : No. 1 , Article 5.
Available at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol39/iss1/5
Editor-in-Chief 
Shailesh Patel is the Editor in Chief of PLR. The computer science major is in 
his first semester as Editor in Chief and his second semester in PLR. The code 
loving Editor loves to write when a computer isn’t needed. His mediocre writing 
has been published in some places, and lesser known works have been featured 
on the fridge or the bon fire kindling. The Editor is loved by all the editors and 
especially the advisor who would like no one else to be Editor in Chief, although 
they did have no choice.
Marketing Editor
Lindsay Flinker is the _____ (insert synonym for wonderful) Marketing Editor 
of PLR. She is a twenty-something from DuPage County, who is still figuring out 
what to do with her life. She has taken a few writing courses, and hopes to some-
day write a novel. The bubbly introvert enjoys all things Disney, pillow forts, cozy 
blankets, and dancing in her pajamas. She aspires to one day own a few farm 
animals (or dogs at least) as she changes the world with her pals by her side. 
 
Production Editor
Jamie McCreedy, PLR's very own Production Editor, is an effervescent redhead at 
the College of DuPage who plans to pursue a degree in Radiography. As a lover 
of comedic television shows—and an active participant in procrastination—she 
enjoys frequently watching late-night episodes of the Big Bang Theory, 2 Broke 
Girls, and Modern Family when she should be doing homework. She has a 
special place in her heart for Baymax, loves learning the Spanish language, and 
regularly spends hours on end with her best friend adding to a bucket-list that 
never seems to get started. 'Twas her first semester as a member of the PLR crew 
and she hopes to continue participating for many more semesters! BAZINGA! ™ 
Copy Editor
Marisa, only one s, Jud2 is known as the quiet one. ‘Twas her second semester 
on PLR. She is majoring, maybe, in zoology or graphic design; other possibilities 
include basket weaving, public speaking, acting, auctioneering, and puppetry. 
Marisa is active in the softball community, squashing local teams with her fierce 
throw. She has pets. Lots of them. Even a turtle. 
Prairie Light Review Editorial Team
4  Prairie Light Review
1
et al.: prairie light review editorial team
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2016
Associate Editors
Thania Hernandez is an English major who had no choice but to join the Prairie 
Light Review team thrice due to a lack of other more practical plans. In the 
future, she will have to take on work as either an editor, a technical writer, or any 
other related writing field while attempting to write the Great American novel. In 
her free time, she enjoys long walks, binge watching Doctor Who on DVD, and 
brainstorming story ideas, half of which she’ll never use. 
Part One:
 Michael Perry is a student editor of this pamphlet currently found in your 
sweat-nubbed fingers.  In his second semester with PLR,  he worked with utmost 
aplomb and espirit de corps when sifting through submissions. His favorite 
mediums are animation and video games, particularly of the vintage kind (think 
off-model Clampett cartoons and derelict Turbografx HuCards). Sometimes he 
writes (often he doesn’t). His favorite movie is The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. He 
often dreams of the Earth. And, someday he may be destined to save the College 
of DuPage or even the world! (Parts two and three were omitted due to space 
constraints.) 
Amy Peter, singular—no s, is thriving in her second semester with PLR. When 
she’s not performing at White House dinners or concert halls, she spends her 
time ____________. With her music education major, Amy hopes to eventually 
give up her job at Goodwill; although, ‘twould be a shame to leave behind the 
screaming children and crabby seniors on Sundays. Amy has a dog. 
Assitant Editor
Derek Plate is a long-time reader and writer, first-time PLR editor. He had the 
first act of a ridiculous play he loved writing published in the first annual Iowa 
Summer Writing Festival Anthology. He has previous work experience writing 
for a PR firm. (We are pretty sure that Derek wanted every piece to get in.)
Advisor
Trina Sotirakopulos, PLR’s infamous advisor, who is known for telling student 
editors to “stop farting at the table,” cannot believe that former censorship of 
public flatulence has completely blown up in her face. This semester, editors let 
one squeak out; just see for yourself. (Look at the end of the journal.) Sotirakop-
ulos is proud of her unflagging staff, and in her thrice—yes, let’s bring this word 
back!—attempt to facilitate an illustrious journal, ‘twould be quite rewarding if 
she, once again, helped create a winner. Ms. S., ‘twas also known as Professor S., 
and even T-Dawg, is the impassioned mother of three (two boys and a Lab).
 5  Fall 2016
2
The Prairie Light Review, Vol. 39 [2016], No. 1, Art. 5
http://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol39/iss1/5


prairie light review editorial team

Dye, Jacqueline

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 39 | Number 1 Article 9
Fall 12-1-2016
Pink Needles
Jacqueline Dye
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr
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 koteles@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Dye, Jacqueline (2016) "Pink Needles," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 39 : No. 1 , Article 9.
Available at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol39/iss1/9
Pink Needles
Dragonfly
Purple Pollen
P
ho
to
gr
ap
hy
 b
y 
 Ja
cq
ue
lin
e 
D
ye
10  Prairie Light Review
1
Dye: Pink Needles
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2016


Pink Needles

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 39 | Number 1 Article 10
Fall 12-1-2016
Dragonfly
Jacqueline Dye
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr
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 koteles@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Dye, Jacqueline (2016) "Dragonfly," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 39 : No. 1 , Article 10.
Available at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol39/iss1/10
Pink Needles
Dragonfly
Purple Pollen
P
ho
to
gr
ap
hy
 b
y 
 Ja
cq
ue
lin
e 
D
ye
10  Prairie Light Review
1
Dye: Dragonfly
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2016


Dragonfly

Miklosz, Molly

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 39 | Number 1 Article 21
Fall 12-1-2016
Eye Contact
Molly Miklosz
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr
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 koteles@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Miklosz, Molly (2016) "Eye Contact," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 39 : No. 1 , Article 21.
Available at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol39/iss1/21
Eye Contact
Pen Drawing by Molly Miklosz
 Prairie Light Review16 
1
Miklosz: Eye Contact
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2016


Eye Contact

Ahlert, Alyssa

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 39 | Number 1 Article 24
Fall 12-1-2016
What May Be A Dream?
Alyssa Ahlert
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr
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 koteles@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Ahlert, Alyssa (2016) "What May Be A Dream?," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 39 : No. 1 , Article 24.
Available at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol39/iss1/24
What May Be A Dream? 
 
Oh, what may be a dream but wishes mute? 
Those thoughts that dance and prance a time or two? 
The silent longings of the heart set free 
To lift the spirit from chambers dark and cold. 
A dream is as a morning mist of spring; 
Refreshing, light, and gently promising 
To all who sleep and wake in time to catch 
The welcome peace and glory they behold. 
But woe to waking hours; the bitterness they bring 
When dreams escape the loving hold of thought! 
The plaintive heart starts longing once again 
To sink into the realms of possibility.
“C
on
sc
io
us
ne
ss
”
Ru
bb
er
 st
am
ps
, d
ye
 in
ks
 an
d 
w
hi
te
m
ar
ke
r 
on
 g
lo
ss
y 
sto
ck
 b
y 
M
ar
ge
 D
ad
y
Alyssa Ahlert
 19  Fall 2016
1
Ahlert: What May Be A Dream?
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2016


What May Be A Dream?

Tertusio, Natalia

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 39 | Number 1 Article 36
Fall 12-1-2016
Thirty Minutes of Ink
Natalia Tertusio
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr
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 koteles@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Tertusio, Natalia (2016) "Thirty Minutes of Ink," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 39 : No. 1 , Article 36.
Available at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol39/iss1/36
She wears her hair up. 
Sometimes in elegant swirls, threads of liquid chocolate weaving together to rest 
like a crown upon her head; 
Sometimes in a messy bun, rebellious follicles straining toward the sky for a 
better view of the sun. 
(Though the sun can never quite compare to you, my dear.) 
  
She wears her hair up. 
Strands clinging to her cranium as children cling to their favorite toy - 
Whether their grip is ironclad or lazy and loose, the prize is never relinquished, 
even for a moment. 
(If only I could have more moments here with you.) 
  
She wears her hair up. 
Exposing a distracting expanse of porcelain skin, 
Speckled with angel kisses as far as the eye can see. 
(And an angel you must be to smile at me so.) 
 
She wears her hair up. 
The rich earthen tones of her tresses rivalled only by the sweet honey of her eyes 
- 
Honey on a summer’s day, deceptively deep and impossibly alluring, drawing the 
curious in just close enough to taste the sugar in her smile. 
(If you are honey, then I am a bee, forever enraptured by your charm.) 
  
She wears her hair up, and it’s beautiful. 
  
And yet, 
I dream of how it would feel to card my fingers through it, 
Removing clips and pins and worries as I go, 
Reveling in the peace we would find together. 
  
(She still wears her hair up. 
But sometimes she lets it 
down for me, and I love her 
all the more.)
“What did you notice first?” 
Th
irt
y 
M
in
ut
es
 o
f I
nk
In
k 
on
 m
ix
ed
 m
ed
ia
 b
y
N
at
al
ia
 T
er
tu
sio
Alyssa Ahlert
26  Prairie Light Review
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Tertusio: Thirty Minutes of Ink
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2016


Thirty Minutes of Ink

North, William

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 39 | Number 1 Article 57
Fall 12-1-2016
Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney, Australia
William North
College of DuPage
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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 koteles@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
North, William (2016) "Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney, Australia," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 39 : No. 1 , Article 57.
Available at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol39/iss1/57
Iranian Poetry Lady 
  
The first time I saw your face, cosmetic images, dust, dirt, determination 
fell across your exiled face.  Coal smoke lifted with your simple words and 
short poems. 
Your meaning drawn across a black board of past, rainbows, future 
fragment, still in the shadows. 
Muhammad, Jesus twins, only one forms a halo alone. 
One screams love, drips candle wax, lights life, shakes, love. 
I encrust your history in the Ginkgo tree, deliverance. 
I wrap in the branches the whispers in your ears a new beginning. 
I am the landscape of your future walk soft peddle on green grass. 
I will take you there.  I am your poet, your lead, freedom clouds move 
over then on. 
I review no spelling, grammar errors; I lick your envelope, finish, stamp 
place on. 
Down with age I may go, but I offer this set of angel wings I purchased at 
a thrift store. 
I release you in south wind, storms, and warm in spring, monarch butter-
flies. 
Your name scribbles in gold script. 
Night, mysteries, follow handle, your own. 
Sy
dn
ey
 H
ar
bo
ur
 B
rid
ge
, S
yd
ne
y, 
Au
str
al
ia
 
Ph
ot
og
ra
ph
y 
by
 W
ill
ia
m
 N
or
th
Michael Lee Johnson
40  Prairie Light Review
1
North: Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney, Australia
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2016


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