DigitalCommons@C.O.D.

Milioti, Filio Zoi

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 46 
Number 1 Fall 2023 Article 29 
Fall 12-1-2023 
Folk Paradiso Orsalia 
Filio Zoi Milioti 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Milioti, Filio Zoi (2023) "Folk Paradiso Orsalia," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 46: No. 1, Article 29. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol46/iss1/29 
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. 
Folk Paradiso Orsalia, Color Photograph  _Filio Zoi Milioti Kamal Talai, Acrylic Color and Gold Leaf  on Canvas  _Megha Jain
2928
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Milioti: Folk Paradiso Orsalia
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2023


English

Folk Paradiso Orsalia

Jain, Megha

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 46 
Number 1 Fall 2023 Article 30 
Fall 12-1-2023 
Kamal Talai 
Megha Jain 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Jain, Megha (2023) "Kamal Talai," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 46: No. 1, Article 30. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol46/iss1/30 
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. 
Folk Paradiso Orsalia, Color Photograph  _Filio Zoi Milioti Kamal Talai, Acrylic Color and Gold Leaf  on Canvas  _Megha Jain
2928
1
Jain: Kamal Talai
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2023


Kamal Talai

Mandani, Abdul Malik

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 46 
Number 1 Fall 2023 Article 37 
Fall 12-1-2023 
Natural Man 
Abdul Malik Mandani 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Mandani, Abdul Malik (2023) "Natural Man," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 46: No. 1, Article 37. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol46/iss1/37 
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. 
Imagine, if the trees could bleed 
and the flowers cry out in pain,
Man wouldn’t worship graven image 
nor aspire for the heaven in vain.
Imagine, if the sea unleashes 
its waters on earth to freely roam,
Why man would eye the heavens 
why not make this his home?
A heavy load sits on my soul 
when I see life the way it fares,
Fate is a treacherous peddler 
and it’s partial with its wares.
What grieves your heart and 
perturbs your mind the most?
When remorse is the house and 
repentance makes an ideal host.
Natural Man _Abdul Malik Mandani
Guardian of the Garden, Color Photograph _Angel Nance
3534
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Mandani: Natural Man
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2023


Natural Man

Martin, Cuyler

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 46 
Number 1 Fall 2023 Article 78 
Fall 12-1-2023 
Perspective on Changing 
Cuyler Martin 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Martin, Cuyler (2023) "Perspective on Changing," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 46: No. 1, Article 78. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol46/iss1/78 
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. 
If I could,
Maybe I’d do it today
So long to the days of me
Only living in the moment.
Reflecting, no more sleeping
Regrets lie unchecked.
“You only need to try.”
If I can,
Maybe I’ll do it tomorrow
Time is tick-tick-ticking quickly,
Remember what lies behind
You as you struggle
In an effort to stop the thoughts.
Not enough, never
Give up
Perspective on Changing _Cuyler Martin
A Beautiful Ghost Story, Photograph  _Dariana Rozier
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Martin: Perspective on Changing
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2023


Perspective on Changing

Student Design + Build Team:   Esmeralda Arteaga Barakat Hasan Brandon Martinez Marco Mavrenovic Denise Sanchez Sami Syed 
Faculty and Staff:   Professor: Mark A. Pearson, AIA Shop Instructor: Ryan Buckel 
For more information about the project, visit our  Design Build 2023 website

Pearson, Mark A

College of DuPage 
DigitalCommons@COD 
Faculty and Staff Scholarship Architecture/Construction Management 
Summer 2023 
Design + Build: College of DuPage Architecture Design + Build 
Studio, Summer 2023 
Mark A. Pearson 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/archconstmngt_fac_staff 
 Part of the Architecture Commons 

Construction funding for this project was provided by the COD Foundation Resources for 
Excellence Grant Program.
 
Architecture 2302: Arch Design + Build
8 week Architecture studio course, Summer 2023
College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL
Studio Professor: Mark A. Pearson, AIA
Shop Instructor: Ryan Buckel
“Collaboration. Nothing begins with us. The more we pay attention, the more we 
begin to realize that all the work we ever do is a collaboration.”
Music Producer Rick Rubin (The Creative Act: A Way of Being)
“Teamwork is learned quickly when there is too much to do.”
Architect Brian MacKay-Lyons (about the Ghost Lab projects)
Again now for the FOURTH time, I get to write about how fortunate I am to be able to build with my students. 
The COD Arch Design + Build Studio began in 2014 as a simple desire to connect the design process 
with the act of making, providing students a more substantive learning experience about the creation of 
architecture.  Each time I teach this studio, I gain an even deeper appreciation for the power of teaching 
architecture through experiential, hands on, building projects.
I would like to acknowledge the generous construction funding provided by the College of DuPage 
Foundation Resources for Excellence Grant Program.  
Thank you to the College of DuPage Administration for your continued support of this project.  Thank you to 
COD president Dr. Brian Caputo, ACH Dean Dr. Brian Carlson, and the many other COD administrators who 
have helped champion these design build projects as essential learning activities.
Special thank you to the Fuel Garden Faculty and Staff, especially Shamili Ajgaonkar, Vicki Gerberich, and 
Jackie Weaver who acted as our primary COD clients for this project.  Thank you to Anna Bakker, COD 
Prairie Manager, for your enthusiasm and support.  Thank you to the Fuel Garden student volunteers for 
critiquing our design work.  Your feedback was most helpful in the design and development of this project.  
We hope that we have created a structure that will serve you well for many years to come!
BIG thank you to Don Inman, COD Director of Facilities Planning and Development for your substantial 
project support.  Thank you for connecting us with Combined Roofing Services and Integral Construction Inc 
when our design ambitions began to exceed our construction skills!  Thanks also to the Village of Glen Ellyn 
Building Department for partnering with us on this project and creating a code review teachable moment for 
our class. 
Most importantly, I would like to thank the six dedicated students who signed up for this summer 2023 
challenge.  You approached this project with hard work, dedication, and enthusiasm.  We were small but 
mighty, and even extreme heat and wildfire smoke didn’t stop us from reaching our goals.  Your teamwork 
and attitude made this class the most enjoyable experience that an instructor could ask for - THANK YOU! 
I am exceptionally proud of what we have accomplished together.
Mark A. Pearson, AIA,  Professor of Architecture
AKNOWLEDGEMENTS

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
This project challenged students to design and build a small shed structure adjacent to the COD fuel garden.
The mission of the Fuel Garden at College of DuPage is to provide fresh organic food for those who need it, 
model sustainable urban agricultural practices, and support local food production through interdisciplinary 
teaching and learning.  The garden promotes public awareness of healthy eating and living and provides 
a practical learning environment to explore current practices and trends related to food security and 
sustainability in urban agriculture.
This structure primarily acts as secure, dry storage space for fuel garden tools and supplies.  However, 
beyond the functional requirements of a shed, this project encouraged student designers to think beyond 
basic utility and design a structure that could serve as a gathering space, a sculptural object on the 
landscape, a bookend to the garden masterplan, and a beautiful object.  
Shed
 (noun) a simple roofed structure used as a storage space
 (verb) give off, discharge, expel, eject, pour forth, cast off, put or house
Students were asked to consider the following criteria as a part of their design process:
SITE: The project should be a site specific architectural response.
CONCEPT: Solutions should be based on clearly articulated, thoughtful, and developed design concepts.
SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT: The project should create a defined architectural space.
TECTONICS: Detail, materiality, and tectonic considerations should inform the design process.
CODE: The structure must meet all applicable Village of Glen Ellyn building codes.
BUDGET: A material construction budget of $15,000 was established for this structure.
CLIENT: Support and serve the needs of the COD Fuel Garden.
SIT
E
Architecture begins with the site.  At its best, good design is a poetic response to place and circumstance.
The purpose of this activity was to measure, draw, and observe the physical (and dimensional) site 
conditions.  We were also interested in trying to understanding the more transient aspects of the place.  
Where is the sun, and how does it move?  How do people move through and occupy the site?
What is the history of the Prairie and the Fuel Garden?  What else makes this place unique?
What are the latent aspects of the site, and how can they be revealed?
These questions encouirage students to think deeper about place, and eventually lead to design solutions 
that are responsive to the specificities of this site.  How can our design exist here, and nowhere else?  How 
can it engage?  Create place?  Reveal?
Most importantly, how can our design address and support the adjacent garden and prairie?
SITE ANALYSIS
STUDY 01: MULTIPLES
The intent of the first design study ‘MULTIPLES’ was to encourage students to work in teams, and produce 
a large variety of ideas, concepts, and design approaches.  Multiple ideas, multiple tests, and multiple 
explorations were the themes of this study.
These are first studies, and as such they are not quite ready for the world to see yet.  Their value, however, is 
in the ideas that are being explored.  
These are first ideas.  They are points of departure.  They are brainstorming in three dimentions.  These are 
beginning concepts that still need to be rigorously developed, questioned, and refined.  
And yet, somewhere in these initial sketches is the thread of what the eventual project will become.
SYNTHESIS:
The combining of elements into a single or unified entity.
A complex whole formed by combining.
The process of combining objects or ideas.
To put together or combine.
From the previous studies and critique discussions, three  
synthesized schemes emerged and were developed with 
greater focus and depth.
At the conclusion of this first study, a group voting 
technique using sticky dots was utilized to identify which 
schemes and ideas were to be developed further.
STUDY 02: SYNTHESIS
STUDY 02: SYNTHESIS
01:  BENCH AND TRELLIS 
This study became important for the exploration of an integrated bench. planter, trellis, and roof overhang.  
All three of these design elements were eventually integrated into the final shed design.  Several variations 
of this theme were explored.
STUDY 02: SYNTHESIS
02:  DOUBLE SLOPED ROOF
The double sloped roof became an important design element that had a strong influence on the final shed 
design.  Several variations of opposing roof form designs were explored.
STUDY 02: SYNTHESIS
03:  CLERESTORY      
This scheme was influential for its use of clerestory window as well as for the thoughtfulness of the cladding 
details. Theses elements also had a strong influence on the design development process.
THE EVOLUTION OF AN IDEA (design development)
At the conclusion of the previous study, the class decided to develop a final design scheme based on a 
combination of the best ideas.  Our decisions on which ideas to pursue were heavily influenced by the 
schemes that we felt would serve our client’s needs the best.  Elements from all of the previous studies 
had a strong influence in the final design study, including the double sloped roof form, staggered plan, 
clerestory windows, expressed roof structure, integrated benches, planters, trellises, and siding details.  
This project truely became a design based on the integration of all of the best elements of the previous 
schemes.  But as is always the case in the design process, good ideas had to be discarded, saved for 
another project, at another time.
Over the course of one intense week, as a group, we took ideas from the previous studies and created a 
final design.  Our work included resolving the structure and joist spacing.  We tested variations in form, 
dimension and proportions.  We refined the bench and trellis details.  We developed elevations that had not 
been fully considered.  And we produced a final set of design documents from which we could build.
A good studio should be a fertile ground for ideas, students all influencing each other, allowing for cross 
pollination to occur.  One ongoing challenge in a design studio is the process of teaching students how to 
develop a design.  Taking an idea from an initial sketch into a refined work of Architecture is a skill that takes 
students time to master.  As an educator, I am interested not only in the final product, but how the design 
studio arrives at that solution.  It is important for me to teach students how to develop and refine their design 
work.  In a design build class, this process (as illustrated here) is essential.
It takes a great deal of design development work to move a project from an initial, unrefined idea into a 
built work of art.  Looking backwards, you can easily trace the thread of the ideas all the way through.  The 
challenge for the designer, of course, is that the creative process often only makes sense in reverse.  In real 
time, it is impossible to see the end of the journey.  But looking back at the process reveals the embedded 
logic that is often present.  There are visible strands of thought that link the studies together. 
For a designer, an awareness of how we work creatively is crucial for producing work that is authentic and 
meaningful.
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
FUEL GARDEN SHED DESIGN
FUEL GARDEN SHED DESIGN
FUEL GARDEN SHED DESIGN
FUEL GARDEN SHED DESIGN
FUEL GARDEN SHED DESIGN
FUEL GARDEN SHED DESIGN
ON MAKING
This studio is based on the simple idea of connecting design with making.  The premise is that when 
students build, it enhances the learning experience, and fundamentally changes the design process.
In this class, we think through making.  We design knowing that we must build.  We solve problems with 
drawings, and in the shop.  We consider the poetic and the tectonic simultaneously.  We think about 
materials and connections. We work as a team.  We work as a design office.  We draw details, and build 
mockups.  We understand the limitations of our drawings.  We pay attention to scale and detail.  In 
this studio we have deep conversations about real world issues.  We have conversations that would not 
normally occur in a design studio.  We have clients, and consultants, and a budget, and codes, and 
regulations…….. and we make real things.
All of this allows for an unparalleled and engaging learning experience for our students, our future 
Architects.
And we hope that through this process we have created a beautiful structure that will be enjoyed by the 
entire campus community.
CONSTRUCTION
CONSTRUCTION
CONSTRUCTION
CONSTRUCTION
TIMELAPSE
CONSTRUCTION
CONSTRUCTION
CONSTRUCTION
CONSTRUCTION
CONSTRUCTION
CONSTRUCTION
CONSTRUCTION
FUEL GARDEN SHED
FUEL GARDEN SHED
FUEL GARDEN SHED
FUEL GARDEN SHED
FUEL GARDEN SHED
STUDENT DESIGN + BUILD TEAM:
Esmeralda Arteaga
Barakat Hasan
Brandon Martinez
Marco Mavrenovic
Denise Sanchez
Sami Syed
BUILD DAY VOLUNTEERS:
Irvin Amezola
Nathan Blaim
Mohammad Jarad
Jenna Johnston
Sneha Susan Joshy
Daniel Mendoza
Hazel Tan
PROFESSOR:  Mark A. Pearson, AIA
SHOP INSTRUCTOR:  Ryan Buckel
ESMERALDA ARTEAGA
This class helped us establish an 
understanding on what it takes 
to execute a real architectural 
project.  I learned how significant 
it is to have good communication 
within a team, both verbally 
and graphically.  I valued the 
opportunity to design something 
and see it fully built.  Being able 
to walk through what we created 
was a captivating experience 
and it continues to inspire me to 
design with the purpose of serving 
a community.
BARAKAT HASAN
The necessity to build significantly 
changed the design process. As 
we were designing, we aimed to 
meet the client’s needs.  We went 
through multiple iterations trying 
to achieve a balance between 
functionality and aesthetic appeal.  
Seeing our design transform 
from a rendering to a functional 
building was incredibly rewarding. 
This experience gave me a deeper 
appreciation for the real impact of 
our work.
BRANDON MARTINEZ
The most meaningful aspect of 
this course was the real-world 
experience we all were able to 
gain. This project allowed us to 
experience not only the beauty 
of our idea coming to fruition, 
but it also shed light on some of 
the challenges that construction 
brings. This course allowed us 
all to see and experience what an 
architect may go through when 
completing a project, and apply 
our knowledge to a real world 
project in a fun and memorable 
way.STUDENT PERSPECTIVE
MARCO MAVRENOVIC
I think the construction aspect is 
that final “hands on” experience 
that any architecture student 
needs to fully appreciate and 
experience what they’re doing.  It 
was important for us to actually 
see a structure we had a hand 
in designing being built. Seeing 
the collective vision we had as 
a class become realized over a 
short period of time was inspiring. 
Knowing that the structure will be 
seen and used by people for years 
to come is also inspiring in the 
same way.
DENISE SANCHEZ
In most classes, students work 
individually, refining their design 
skills.  But this class required us 
to work with our classmates and 
taught us collaboration skills that 
will help in future projects.  This 
class puts into practice what we 
have learned in previous studio 
classes while adding a hands-on 
learning component.  I believe 
that being involved in construction 
projects while pursuing an 
architecture degree is a valuable 
experience for a future architect.
SAMI SYED
Design build was the type of 
class that made us think about a 
real-world scenario. It gave us the 
opportunity to help the school’s 
fuel garden, which provides fresh 
produce for the community and 
people in need. To me, the most 
meaningful aspect was seeing 
our project fully built and making 
a difference to people and the 
environment. As a future architect, 
seeing our project come to life is 
almost magical, and knowing it 
helps a good cause makes it even 
better. 
OUTTAKES
OUTTAKES:  MARCO
THANK YOU TO
Dr. Brian Caputo, President, College of DuPage
Dr. Mark Curtis-Chavez, Provost, College of DuPage
Dr. Lisa Stock, Assistant Provost of Instruction, Academic Affairs
Dr. Brian Carlson, Dean of Arts, Communication, and Hospitality Division
 
Don Inman, Director of Facilites Planning and Development, College of DuPage
Village of Glen Ellyn Department of Planning and Development
Bill O’Brien, Combined Roofing Services, Inc.
Jeff Peterson, Combined Roofing Services, Inc.
Joe Zinchuk, Integral Construction, Inc
Vicki Gerberich, Outdoor Lab / Fuel Garden Manager, College of DuPage
Anna Bakker, Prairie Manager, College of DuPage
Professor Shamili Ajgaonkar, Faculty Advisor, Food Security Initiative
Professor Jackie Weaver, Faculty Advisor, Food Security Initiative
COD Fuel Garden Student Interns
Karen Kuhn, Executive Director, College of DuPage Foundation
Walter Johnson, Vice President, Institutional Advancement, College of DuPage
Shelley Weiler, College of DuPage Foundation
COD Resources For Excellence Grant Program: Construction funding for this project was provided by the 
COD Foundation Resources for Excellence Grant Program.
Professor Jane Ostergaard, Department Chair, COD Architecture
Assistant Professor Alexander Pellicano, COD Architecture
Ryan Buckel, Construction Shop Instructor, COD Architecture
Heller Lumber Co.
All images © College of DuPage Architecture, 2023
ARCH DESIGN + BUILD 2023
PROJECT LINKS
DESIGN + BUILD STUDIO BLOG: http://codarch-designbuild.blogspot.com/
CONSTRUCTION TIMELAPSE: https://youtu.be/0agiqxB0Oss



Design + Build: College of DuPage Architecture Design + Build Studio, Summer 2023

Tellez, Bianca

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 46 
Number 1 Fall 2023 Article 58 
Fall 12-1-2023 
Roll for Initiative 
Bianca Tellez 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Tellez, Bianca (2023) "Roll for Initiative," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 46: No. 1, Article 58. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol46/iss1/58 
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. 
You’re standing in a room that feels both familiar and foreign to you. There are sounds 
all around you, the chatter of people talking over each other and some kind of music 
playing in the background. When you listen carefully, too closely, you can even hear the 
sounds outside. 
But then you look and see that there’s no one around you. The room you’re in is com-
pletely bare and it doesn’t have a single door or window or any kind of escape. You 
could swear you were just in a different room. It hits you then that you don’t know where 
all that noise is coming from. 
That’s when you feel it.
A pit, deep and dark, starts forming in the bottom of your stomach and it feels like 
there’s something there trying to claw itself out. You suddenly find that breathing itself is 
harder in this room. Every breath you take is shorter and more staggered, and you start 
getting lightheaded very quickly. Your eyesight goes next. The room starts turning hazy 
and you’re certain then that something is wrong.
 Give me a wisdom saving throw.
Nothing seems out of the ordinary. In fact, you know this feeling. It’s familiar. You feel 
it all the time. It must be a completely normal feeling. 
You feel the terrible, familiar feeling start to take over and you let it. The pit in your 
stomach is crawling its way up. It reaches your chest and clenches around your heart, 
squeezes until it’s all you can feel. Your breaths get even shorter, your lungs start ex-
panding and it feels like they could just pop like a balloon any second now. The room 
starts moving around you but you remain still.
Your body betrays your brain. It knows you need to get out of there despite the pain 
and the haze and the noises seeming familiar. But your body isn’t in control. Your 
brain is.
It stops you and weighs down every inch of your body it can reach. You stumble. 
Once and then twice before you feel your body collapse and fall to the ground.
 What do you do?
Five. My pink and yellow bracelet. The mismatched socks I have on. A book, I haven’t 
finished it. My blanket on the floor. The poster falling off my wall.
Four. Cold, it’s the floor underneath me. My phone in my–
Roll For Initiative _Bianca Tellez
Divine Delusion, Color Photograph  _Elise Matlock Farewell to Anticipation, Jewelry   _Matt Hanson
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Tellez: Roll for Initiative
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2023
Four. The floor. It’s cold. The bracelet I’m wearing. My sleeves, I’m pulling on them. My 
phone in my pocket.
Three. The vent, it’s too loud. My breathing, it’s also too loud. And everyone’s voices 
coming through the vent. 
Two. A candle I had on last night and the detergent lingering on my clothes. 
One. The coffee I drank this morning.
I take a deep breath but it doesn’t work the first time. So I count. And then I try again. 
In for four. Hold. Out for four. Hold again. I do that over and over until it’s the only 
thing I can think about.
 Very good. Now give me an intelligence check.
The room changes around you once more. It was never empty or bare to begin with. 
You were just thinking a little too much is all. Everything overwhelmed you and there’s 
absolutely nothing wrong with that. 
As you breathe in you feel that sinking feeling start to fade. The air you take in fills 
the pit until it disappears almost completely. It’s still there but you can manage it a 
little better now. Your brain catches up with your body on every exhale. Your hands 
move to feel the way you breathe and, with each rise and fall, the rest of your mus-
cles relax themselves.
Time passes and you keep counting in fours. When your vision clears and you can 
perceive everything again, you find the space around you empty. It’s a comfortable 
kind of empty this time, though, with no cacophony of sounds or the haze clouding 
your surroundings.
You know this place and know that it’s safe. All those monsters fighting you inside your 
head are gone for now. You’re safe.
 We exit combat.
 for my Sister*
My family often departed from Truth.
In gray-blue moon, the train would approach
that station. No one wanted to linger.
We spent our lives in moving cars.
Frozen in snowy North, sunny fields beckoned.
We traveled to Disney World.
Next, the train stopped at the depot of Truth.
In darkness, no one wished to get out.
Perhaps, a body would be found inside.
Through the lonely whistle of starlit sojourns
no one spoke of Truth. Yet it stayed
on the line, a shadow in collective memory.
      *
Here it comes. We close our eyes.
Rumors float in mist, swirling around IT.
What will be found inside?
*Mardene Eide, now deceased 
Whatever it meant—
“A kiss to bring the evening home.”
We pulled apart.
All along the block
Trees tossed new buds 
Skyward—
Sun-sliced/wind-mussed/burnt out/gone.
And take also those lilies of the parkway,
Sharp white/petal-peeled/stem-bent/slick.
After the rain, 
we set our bluestem boat to swirl,
that shabby vessel of intention,
tied and flattened and gutter-bound
and I said: “I know well
the grass blades that you mention.”
Plus this:
the day’s heat, pulled taut, broke.
Plus this:
dim rattle of thunder, moving off, 
saying: 
You’re next. You. 
Plus this:
the sky, a dirty canvas
the sky, cracking a little
the sky, well—
The Station _Mardelle Fortier
Dh
ak
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 B
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ad
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- N
ai
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ac
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, 
Ph
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 _
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 Y
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After Sexton, Stafford, Olson _Tom Hill
6160
2
The Prairie Light Review, Vol. 46, No. 1 [2023], Art. 58
https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol46/iss1/58


Roll for Initiative

Yearman, Keith

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 46 
Number 1 Fall 2023 Article 61 
Fall 12-1-2023 
Dhaka Bangladesh - Nail factory 
Keith Yearman 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Yearman, Keith (2023) "Dhaka Bangladesh - Nail factory," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 46: No. 1, Article 
61. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol46/iss1/61 
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. 
Four. The floor. It’s cold. The bracelet I’m wearing. My sleeves, I’m pulling on them. My 
phone in my pocket.
Three. The vent, it’s too loud. My breathing, it’s also too loud. And everyone’s voices 
coming through the vent. 
Two. A candle I had on last night and the detergent lingering on my clothes. 
One. The coffee I drank this morning.
I take a deep breath but it doesn’t work the first time. So I count. And then I try again. 
In for four. Hold. Out for four. Hold again. I do that over and over until it’s the only 
thing I can think about.
 Very good. Now give me an intelligence check.
The room changes around you once more. It was never empty or bare to begin with. 
You were just thinking a little too much is all. Everything overwhelmed you and there’s 
absolutely nothing wrong with that. 
As you breathe in you feel that sinking feeling start to fade. The air you take in fills 
the pit until it disappears almost completely. It’s still there but you can manage it a 
little better now. Your brain catches up with your body on every exhale. Your hands 
move to feel the way you breathe and, with each rise and fall, the rest of your mus-
cles relax themselves.
Time passes and you keep counting in fours. When your vision clears and you can 
perceive everything again, you find the space around you empty. It’s a comfortable 
kind of empty this time, though, with no cacophony of sounds or the haze clouding 
your surroundings.
You know this place and know that it’s safe. All those monsters fighting you inside your 
head are gone for now. You’re safe.
 We exit combat.
 for my Sister*
My family often departed from Truth.
In gray-blue moon, the train would approach
that station. No one wanted to linger.
We spent our lives in moving cars.
Frozen in snowy North, sunny fields beckoned.
We traveled to Disney World.
Next, the train stopped at the depot of Truth.
In darkness, no one wished to get out.
Perhaps, a body would be found inside.
Through the lonely whistle of starlit sojourns
no one spoke of Truth. Yet it stayed
on the line, a shadow in collective memory.
      *
Here it comes. We close our eyes.
Rumors float in mist, swirling around IT.
What will be found inside?
*Mardene Eide, now deceased 
Whatever it meant—
“A kiss to bring the evening home.”
We pulled apart.
All along the block
Trees tossed new buds 
Skyward—
Sun-sliced/wind-mussed/burnt out/gone.
And take also those lilies of the parkway,
Sharp white/petal-peeled/stem-bent/slick.
After the rain, 
we set our bluestem boat to swirl,
that shabby vessel of intention,
tied and flattened and gutter-bound
and I said: “I know well
the grass blades that you mention.”
Plus this:
the day’s heat, pulled taut, broke.
Plus this:
dim rattle of thunder, moving off, 
saying: 
You’re next. You. 
Plus this:
the sky, a dirty canvas
the sky, cracking a little
the sky, well—
The Station _Mardelle Fortier
Dh
ak
a 
 B
an
gl
ad
es
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- N
ai
l f
ac
to
ry
, 
Ph
ot
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 _
Ke
ith
 Y
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After Sexton, Stafford, Olson _Tom Hill
6160
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Yearman: Dhaka Bangladesh - Nail factory
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2023


Dhaka Bangladesh - Nail factory

McCallum, Dakoda

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 46 
Number 1 Fall 2023 Article 7 
Fall 12-1-2023 
Cover Art - A Bite Darling 
Dakoda McCallum 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
McCallum, Dakoda (2023) "Cover Art - A Bite Darling," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 46: No. 1, Article 7. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol46/iss1/7 
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. 
Cover Art: A Bite Darling, Digital Artwork _Dakoda McCallum
Table of Contents
Dhaka, Bangladesh - Offloading Books _Keith Yearman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
A Bite Darling _Dakoda McCallum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
The Invitation _Tom Hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Dash _Steven Anderson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
stranger _Mia Maglicic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Examination _Elise Matlock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Spring Fashion _Karlynn Rich -- Designer_ Rahaf  Damra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
The Haircut _Bee Bishop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Morya _Megha Jain  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
A Miracle _Mina Pattanaik  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
I, Mother _BrittanyAnn Schumacher  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Mother-Daughter Bonding _Natalia G. Toreeva  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Her Daughter Speaks _Wilda Morris  . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Suburban Wasteland _Dakoda McCallum  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Unusual Attribute _Dariana Rozier  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Forward _Mina Pattanaik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Iced Freddos _Hadley Weaver Rivera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
The Birth _ Kelly Kuper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
The Hand That Nurtures _Alyssa Ferraro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
To My Biological Father: a Pantoum _Wilda Morris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
A Letter I’ll Never Send _Bianca Tellez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Folk Paradiso Orsalia _Filio Zoi Milioti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Kamal Talai _Megha Jain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Still Motion _Devona Barnes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Self  _Christina Savaglio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
54
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McCallum: Cover Art - A Bite Darling
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2023


Cover Art - A Bite Darling

Bishop, Bee

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 46 
Number 1 Fall 2023 Article 15 
Fall 12-1-2023 
The Haircut 
Bee Bishop 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Bishop, Bee (2023) "The Haircut," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 46: No. 1, Article 15. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol46/iss1/15 
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. 
I couldn’t remember the last time I got a haircut but I 
knew it hadn’t ever been like this. The salon was in a strip mall, 
in between a bakery and a bar and across from a gas sta-
tion, so the inside smelled of coffee and beer except when the 
door opened and the burning smell of gasoline wormed its way 
inside. Gentle guitar strums and rowdy drunken cries of the 
neighbors were just barely audible over the radio playing in 
the corner. 
The hairdresser wrapped the cape around me and 
snapped the closures together.
“So what are we doing with your hair today, honey?” 
she asked.
I stare back at my reflection. It’s hard to know where to 
look. I can’t stare at her because that might make her uncom-
fortable and she might get nervous and accidentally cut the top 
of my ear off. Or maybe staring will make her angry and she’ll 
want to fight me and I’m not much of a fighter so I’d lose imme-
diately and then she’ll purposely cut the top of my ear off. So 
I can’t look at her because one way or another she will cut the 
top of my ear off.
But I can’t look down. That might mess up the haircut and 
then I’ll have to walk around with an uneven haircut–probably 
for the rest of my life–and then people will point and laugh at 
me and I won’t ever be able to leave the house again. Which 
also means I can’t look up, or left, or right. So if I don’t look 
straight ahead at all times then my hair will be ruined forever.
An ad came over the radio, and I quickly realized that 
I hadn’t answered the hairdresser’s question. If my dad were 
here, he’d scold me.
“Answer the damn question. It’s not that hard,” he’d say. 
Then he’d go back to playing solitaire on his phone. He wouldn’t 
even look up, he’d just say it. Maybe he’d forget that he drove 
The Haircut _Bee Bishop
Spring Fashion, Color Photograph _Karlynn Rich  
 
 
 
 
 
Designer _ Rahaf Dam
ra 
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Bishop: The Haircut
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2023
me here and leave without me because he has better things to 
do during the day.
“Well, sweetheart?” the hairdresser asked. She popped 
her gum. Well, it must have been her gum. If the popping sound 
wasn’t her gum, it must have been my eardrums bursting after 
hearing my heartbeat thump thump thumping away within my 
chest.
If my mom were here, she’d answer for me.
“She wants a little trim. Just to keep those ends neat and 
tidy.” She’d smile but it wouldn’t quite reach her eyes, barely 
indenting her crow’s feet and smile lines. Though she hates them, 
I couldn’t imagine where she’d got them because I doubted it 
was from me.
“We still want to keep it long though,” my mom would 
continue, “because it can’t be too short. It won’t look good with 
your face shape honey.”
The hairdresser’s spray bottle spit in my face as she 
tried to start wetting my hair.
“Do you want to keep it long?” she asked. “Just a trim?”
“No. I don’t want a trim.”
“Looking to cut a few inches off? Maybe go shoulder 
length?”
If my sister were here, she’d have fit.
“You can’t have shoulder-length hair!” She crossed her 
arms the way she’s seen mom do time and time again. “I have 
shoulder-length hair! You can’t have the same haircut as me!”
She’d be wearing a shirt she stole from my closet months 
ago and refuses to admit it’s mine.
“No, not shoulder length,” I told the hairdresser who was 
standing patiently waiting for an answer, honestly any answer, 
from me.
“Maybe you want to try a pixie cut?” she offered.
If my mom was here, she’d laugh.
“That’s the haircut your aunt has,” she’d say, putting a 
hand on my shoulder. “She’s going through her third divorce 
now, you know? I mean I love my sister but she hardly listens 
to me and I told her that he was no good… and I am never 
wrong.”
The hairdresser checked her watch before she quickly 
rushed off to help another client out of the hair dryer.
I looked at my hair. Maybe I could try a different color? 
If my dad were here, he’d scoff.
“Why would you want to dye your hair? It’s the same 
color as mine and I like that color very much,” he’d say, actually 
looking up this time. The conversation would be about him after 
all.
“Are you telling me you don’t like my hair color?” my 
dad would ask, getting to his feet. He’d walked over to where I 
was in the chair so he could swivel it around to get too close to 
my face.
“There’s nothing wrong with my hair color. So you better 
not change yours.”
The hairdresser was back now. 
“Do you want to try a new color?”
“No coloring, thank you.” 
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The Prairie Light Review, Vol. 46, No. 1 [2023], Art. 15
https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol46/iss1/15
One of the other stylists came back with coffees for the 
employees, and I watched as my stylist stepped away to chug 
her cup quickly. 
“So… what do you want to do with your hair… today?” 
she asked, stepping back over to me. 
I was still looking at myself in the mirror. Because I can’t 
look up or down or left or right and I definitely can’t look at the 
hairdresser because I happen to like the tops of my ears thank 
you very much. What did I want? I can’t have it long because 
that’s all I’ve ever known. Long hair with neat ends to please 
an unsmiling mother who could never ever possibly be wrong.  
Can’t have it cut shoulder length because that’s not allowed. 
Shoulder length would be an obvious identifier that maybe my 
sister would be related to me and god forbid anyone knew we 
were related. Can’t get a pixie because then I’m going to get 
divorced three times. Pixie cut means that I have bad taste in 
men and that it’s my fault that I didn’t listen to advice from a 
snobby, stuck-up woman who has never been divorced once and 
thinks that remaining in an unhappy marriage is better than not 
being married. Can’t get it colored because that’s a disaster 
waiting to happen. Coloring my hair means that I hate my old 
hair color and if I hate my hair color then I hate the controlling 
yet uninterested man who gave me that hair color.
It’s not like my hair is the epitome of who I am. What 
can you really tell from a pixie cut? Or dyed hair? Or long hair 
with neat ends? Who made the rules for what my hair has to 
be? Who says you can’t do this, you can’t do that? If there are 
so many things I can’t do, what’s the point in having hair at all?  
Then I leaned back in my chair and finally made eye 
contact for the first time. The hairdresser blinked twice as I told 
her what I wanted for my haircut. Then a Cheshire grin spread 
across her face. She put down her scissors and picked up her 
clippers. With a buzz, it came to life.
“All of it, hon?”
“All of it.” Morya, Acrylic Color and Texture Paste on Canvas  _Megha Jain
1716
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Bishop: The Haircut
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2023


The Haircut

Rozier, Dariana

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 46 
Number 1 Fall 2023 Article 22 
Fall 12-1-2023 
Unusual Attribute 
Dariana Rozier 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Rozier, Dariana (2023) "Unusual Attribute," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 46: No. 1, Article 22. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol46/iss1/22 
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. 
It’s hard not to think about what this could have been
When my heart is full of promises we just could not have kept. 
One day I will find the words to describe what this all meant, 
But now instead of trying to, I’ll put it all to rest. 
I’ll keep each stolen moment like a collection in my breast.
And something I will never have is any one regret.
Sometimes love is fickle and can fight you to the end,
But sometimes it’s too precious, it’s better when it’s left.
Given time to exist, given space to breathe.
Giving all we’ve ever wanted even when it’s clear to see
That paths are meant to cross, 
Ours was only brief.
Pulled in and then away like we’re two waves upon the beach.
I walk into the floodpath and 
the world goes on. I take pictures of sunsets and 
the world goes on. I miss being sad because
I could pretend everything stopped when I did. 
I could pretend I was the most interesting thing 
in the room. Last week a woman walked onto 
the highway and cars swerved neatly around her 
like water against an immovable object. 
I don’t walk onto the highway. I walk on the 
crosswalk and look at the apartments where 
neighbors are arguing: big broad gestures
like actors in silent films, stuck in a tin-box 
windowpane. You could almost make a show 
of what they’re saying, soap operatics about 
cheating husbands and neglectful wives. 
I used to make a game of it. Now I don’t.
Instead I go home.
Forward _Mina Pattanaik
Iced Freddos _Hadley Weaver Rivera
Unusual Attribute (on left), Photography 
_Dariana Rozier
Th
e 
Bi
rt
h 
(o
n 
rig
ht
), 
Je
we
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_ 
Ke
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 K
up
er
2322
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Rozier: Unusual Attribute
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2023


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