DigitalCommons@C.O.D.

Carbonara, Adriana

Let It Shine

Schumacher, BrittanyAnn

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 46 
Number 1 Fall 2023 Article 18 
Fall 12-1-2023 
I, Mother 
BrittanyAnn Schumacher 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Schumacher, BrittanyAnn (2023) "I, Mother," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 46: No. 1, Article 18. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol46/iss1/18 
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. 
Lightning struck twice in our backyard and 
we didn’t blink. Dad picked the branches off 
the ground and threw them in with the firewood. 
The sky sat in a bright flash of white for days 
like we were frozen in heaven or maybe hell. 
We didn’t blink. Dad told us it’s no good to dwell 
so we ignored the burning house. If I close my eyes 
I can taste the smoke in my lungs and I’m 
relieved I can taste anything at all. 
We didn’t blink. Dad says lightning won’t strike 
the same spot a third time but before that he said 
it never strikes twice. I wake up at night 
to phantom thunderclaps and wonder if this is 
when I’ll die. We didn’t blink. We moved on. 
We don’t dwell. The house is ashes now.
The one witness to my life
Tells me who I am
I have triumphed
And surrendered
I am loyal
And I am ashamed
Do I nurture hope for the 
smallest affections?
For a mother, which parts 
of myself do I owe?
The one witness to my life
Someone who really saw me
I have loved you
And I have lied
I have loved you
And sacrificed
Do I want to be loved or do I 
want to feel needed?
For a mother, are they the same 
thing?
A Miracle _Mina Pattanaik
I, Mother _BrittanyAnn Schumacher
Mother-Daughter Bonding, Ink On Paper _Natalia G. Toreeva
1918
1
Schumacher: I, Mother
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2023


English

I, Mother

Tellez, Bianca

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 46 
Number 1 Fall 2023 Article 28 
Fall 12-1-2023 
A Letter I'll Never Send 
Bianca Tellez 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Tellez, Bianca (2023) "A Letter I'll Never Send," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 46: No. 1, Article 28. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol46/iss1/28 
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 wonder about you sometimes. 
I wonder if our life could’ve been different. Maybe it’s for the best 
that it wasn’t. 
There are some days, days that are good, where I think that maybe 
you’d be just a little bit proud of me. You’d be proud of me for letting 
me be a little more myself than I was the day before. For letting my-
self feel just a little bit loved. You better than anyone know how hard 
those things are. Those are the days I’m proud of you. For making it 
through a problem you were naive enough to think we didn’t have. 
But then there are the days that aren’t so good. The ones where I 
know you’d yell at me if you could. You’d scream and shout and cry 
and I’d sit there and take it all because you aren’t saying a single 
word that isn’t true. It was supposed to be better. You were promised 
better. I’m the one who was stupid enough to make you that promise 
in the first place. 
See, I figured out the problem a long time ago. The problem is that 
our world changed. Without us wanting it to and without us knowing. 
You remember silence. Loneliness. All around us and in your head and 
you never questioned a thing because you didn’t know any better. It 
was simply normal to feel lonely in the silence.
I hated that silence. I’m the one who woke up one day and decided 
I didn’t want that anymore. I dared to think that I deserved better. 
Something you never had the courage to do. But how do you find 
better when you have no idea what that is?
That was the second problem. Better, like our world changing, came 
along without me knowing it was there until I looked back at it. Until it 
was missing. It wasn’t planned or searched for or perfectly manufac-
tured the way you always liked to make things. It was real. 
And maybe that was the first and only time anything in our life had 
ever been real. 
Everything started going wrong when I remembered you. I hadn’t 
thought about you in years. You or our problems or the world we once 
knew. It was on purpose. I think that’s why you managed to sneak up 
on me. You never go away, not really. 
I know you’d yell at me on those days that aren’t so good because 
when I look back I know that while I ignored you, you never once ig-
nored me. I know you were there. You were sitting beside me through 
all those better moments and the weight of the world was lifted off 
of your little shoulders because everything you didn’t know you were 
hoping for was right there. 
I know you’d yell at me because you watched too many of those not-
so-good days start because of me. You see, the fear that you didn’t 
know existed in every bone in your body, I’m much too aware of. You 
feel it as it takes us over bit by bit until it consumes you and me and 
everything we’ve ever been and could ever be. You feel our worst 
fears wrap us in a blanket, weighing us down and soothing us into 
submission. 
You scream and shout and cry because it’s all we’ve ever known. 
And I sit there and take it because it’s all. We’ve ever. Known.
But there’s something that happens when your world changes. Some-
thing we didn’t know when we dared to start dreaming about it. You 
stop feeling so alone. 
Even on those not-so-good days. The ones where I think of you be-
cause in my head I’m alone all over again just like you used to be. 
I think that maybe when I learned what the world was and when I 
started believing those things that make you proud, I also learned to 
really remember you. To live with you instead of in spite of you. 
And I promise that next time there’s a bad day, next time you watch 
one start because of me like it inevitably will, we’ll heal a little more. 
We’ll do it together.
I’ll let you scream and shout and yell all you want. And when you cry 
I’ll kneel down in front of you, wipe your tears away, hold your hands, 
and tell you that it’s not your fault. 
You’ll wonder for the first time if our life could’ve been different. And 
I’ll give you this bittersweet smile as I think of the person you became, 
of all the dreams you can’t see yet, and tell you that maybe it’s for 
the best that it wasn’t.
A Letter I’ll Never Send _Bianca Tellez
2726
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Tellez: A Letter I'll Never Send
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2023


A Letter I\u27ll Never Send

Savaglio, Christina

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 46 
Number 1 Fall 2023 Article 32 
Fall 12-1-2023 
Self 
Christina Savaglio 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Savaglio, Christina (2023) "Self," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 46: No. 1, Article 32. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol46/iss1/32 
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 grew
 up very quick,
knew
 w
ho I w
as at an early age.
So I put m
y personality on like a costum
e,
I am
 an actress and the w
orld is m
y stage.
I paint m
y body like a canvas,
poke needles into m
y skin.
N
o need to w
onder w
ho I am
,
m
y deposition is built in.
G
od forbid you think I’m
 boring,
I’ll perform
 just for you.
Put on that m
ask I call m
y identity,
it’s m
y big acting debut.
W
ithout this im
age w
ho am
 I?
I’d be naked, vulnerable, lost.
I’d do it all for you to like m
e,
I’d do it all, but at w
hat cost?
Self _Christina Savaglio
Blossom
ing, Collage 
_Barbara Garrison
St
ill
 M
ot
io
n,
 C
olo
r P
ho
tog
ra
ph
y
 
 
_D
ev
on
a 
Ba
rn
es
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Savaglio: Self
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2023


Self

Bishop, Bee

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 46 
Number 1 Fall 2023 Article 44 
Fall 12-1-2023 
A Spiteful Love Letter to My Mother 
Bee Bishop 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Bishop, Bee (2023) "A Spiteful Love Letter to My Mother," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 46: No. 1, Article 
44. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol46/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. 
to think
that my hunger
for love and affection
had to be satisfied by you
…silly me
to think
that everything
I could ever want and
ever need could be found with 
you
…silly me
a thief,
you called me but
you were the one who stole.
so don’t be surprised when I 
take
it back
a thief,
you called me as
if I was a mistake,
and not what you said you 
wanted
…silly me
to think
you ever could
provide nourishment to
a quickly growing little girl
…silly me
to think
I could ever
trust you with anything,
when you couldn’t even trust you 
…silly me
A Spiteful Love Letter to My Mother _Bee Bishop Home, Charcoal On Paper  _Natalia G. Toreeva
4544
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Bishop: A Spiteful Love Letter to My Mother
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2023


A Spiteful Love Letter to My Mother

Kueking, Sarah

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 46 
Number 1 Fall 2023 Article 80 
Fall 12-1-2023 
Welcome Home 
Sarah Kueking 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Kueking, Sarah (2023) "Welcome Home," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 46: No. 1, Article 80. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol46/iss1/80 
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 take the first step
 up towards the front door.
  My heart skips a beat with each stride
    as I approach and my past flees
     the house where my home once was.
     Finally, I am on the landing,
     but reaching for the doorknob,
     it shrinks away, a stranger withering,
 leaving me standing alone with every sob.
     The black steel finds my fingerprints foreign,
     so it withdraws within the chestnut wood,
     listening to the echoes of my sins
     and my soul’s hint of good. 
    I stretch my fingers farther forward
   until the metal’s motion stops.
  At long last, the door opens.
 There he stands, smiling.
“Welcome home.”
Welcome Home _Sarah Kueking
Lollipop Dream, Digital Artwork  _Samantha Valdes
7978
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Kueking: Welcome Home
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2023


Welcome Home

Valdes, Samantha

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 46 
Number 1 Fall 2023 Article 81 
Fall 12-1-2023 
Lollipop Dream 
Samantha Valdes 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Valdes, Samantha (2023) "Lollipop Dream," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 46: No. 1, Article 81. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol46/iss1/81 
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. 
I take the first step
 up towards the front door.
  My heart skips a beat with each stride
    as I approach and my past flees
     the house where my home once was.
     Finally, I am on the landing,
     but reaching for the doorknob,
     it shrinks away, a stranger withering,
 leaving me standing alone with every sob.
     The black steel finds my fingerprints foreign,
     so it withdraws within the chestnut wood,
     listening to the echoes of my sins
     and my soul’s hint of good. 
    I stretch my fingers farther forward
   until the metal’s motion stops.
  At long last, the door opens.
 There he stands, smiling.
“Welcome home.”
Welcome Home _Sarah Kueking
Lollipop Dream, Digital Artwork  _Samantha Valdes
7978
1
Valdes: Lollipop Dream
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2023


Lollipop Dream

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 46 
Number 1 Fall 2023 Article 83 
Fall 12-1-2023 
Colophon 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
(2023) "Colophon," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 46: No. 1, Article 83. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol46/iss1/83 
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, Dr. William “Ben” Whisenhunt, 
and Dean Robyn Schiffman. The finished product of this journal would have been 
impossible if not for the unwavering support of our faculty especially in English, 
Creative Writing, Humanities and  Art - as well as across all the divisions (and 
the Honors Program!). Thanks for continuing to encourage students to revise 
and submit their submissions. Much thanks to Chuck Steele, Shannon Hernandez, 
Jelymar Mejia, and the Office of Student Life for their support and assistance 
with publicity as well as Jennifer Duda. Thanks to the CoD Library and Staff. 
Additional gratitude is due to Karen Kuhn, Cathie Walker, Dr. Lisa Stock, and 
the Budilovsky family. We are so grateful to the talented in dividuals at Alpha 
Graphics in Lisle for their support in printing the book.
Colophon
Twice a year, College of DuPage invites all COD students, faculty and staff, as 
well as the entirety of District 502 to submit original literature and artwork for 
publication in the community liberal arts journal, the Prairie Light Review. This 
year 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, 
Trina Sotirakopulos, 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 community 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 2024 Adobe InDesign CC 2024. 
Finance and Operation: the publication is funded through College of   
DuPage’s Student Life
Publishing: AlphaGraphics, Lisle, Illinois
Paperstock: 70 pound Matte Paperstock
Typography: Tw Cen MT Condensed and Tw Cen MT, available through Adobe & paid 
for by Student Life       
Photography: All photography in this magazine is provided by residents   
of District 502
80
1
et al.: Colophon
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2023


Colophon

Toreeva, Natalia G.

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 46 
Number 1 Fall 2023 Article 19 
Fall 12-1-2023 
Mother-Daughter Bonding 
Natalia G. Toreeva 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Toreeva, Natalia G. (2023) "Mother-Daughter Bonding," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 46: No. 1, Article 19. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol46/iss1/19 
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. 
Lightning struck twice in our backyard and 
we didn’t blink. Dad picked the branches off 
the ground and threw them in with the firewood. 
The sky sat in a bright flash of white for days 
like we were frozen in heaven or maybe hell. 
We didn’t blink. Dad told us it’s no good to dwell 
so we ignored the burning house. If I close my eyes 
I can taste the smoke in my lungs and I’m 
relieved I can taste anything at all. 
We didn’t blink. Dad says lightning won’t strike 
the same spot a third time but before that he said 
it never strikes twice. I wake up at night 
to phantom thunderclaps and wonder if this is 
when I’ll die. We didn’t blink. We moved on. 
We don’t dwell. The house is ashes now.
The one witness to my life
Tells me who I am
I have triumphed
And surrendered
I am loyal
And I am ashamed
Do I nurture hope for the 
smallest affections?
For a mother, which parts 
of myself do I owe?
The one witness to my life
Someone who really saw me
I have loved you
And I have lied
I have loved you
And sacrificed
Do I want to be loved or do I 
want to feel needed?
For a mother, are they the same 
thing?
A Miracle _Mina Pattanaik
I, Mother _BrittanyAnn Schumacher
Mother-Daughter Bonding, Ink On Paper _Natalia G. Toreeva
1918
1
Toreeva: Mother-Daughter Bonding
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2023


Mother-Daughter Bonding

Pattanaik, Mina

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 46 
Number 1 Fall 2023 Article 23 
Fall 12-1-2023 
Forward 
Mina Pattanaik 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Pattanaik, Mina (2023) "Forward," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 46: No. 1, Article 23. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol46/iss1/23 
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. 
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
lry
  
_ 
Ke
lly
 K
up
er
2322
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Pattanaik: Forward
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2023


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