DigitalCommons@C.O.D.

Patel, Nikki

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 43 
Number 2 Spring 2021 Article 64 
Spring 5-1-2021 
Float to the Moon 
Nikki Patel 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Patel, Nikki (2021) "Float to the Moon," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 43 : No. 2 , Article 64. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol43/iss2/64 
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. 
 Float to the Moon. Nikki Patel 
69
1
Patel: Float to the Moon
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2021


English

Float to the Moon

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 43 
Number 2 Spring 2021 Article 5 
Spring 5-1-2021 
Editorial Team 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
(2021) "Editorial Team," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 43 : No. 2 , Article 5. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol43/iss2/5 
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 orenick@cod.edu. 
Editorial Team
 Editor in Chief 
 - Jolie Vega
 Production Editor 
 - Julia Di Marco 
 Marketing Editor 
 - Rachel Kennedy
 Assistant Editors 
 - Samantha L. Egbert
 - Adelina Giannini
 - Solomon Mason
 Faculty Advisor 
 - Adam Fotos
Editor’s Note
This volume would not have been possible without the hard work 
and dedication of everyone who submitted their work to Prairie Light 
Review, who believed in our magazine in these difficult times, and 
persevered through them to give us some truly outstanding work. 
We would quite literally not have an issue without you! Additionally, 
a huge thank you to COD’s Student Life for their second semester of 
mailing our previous issues out and for their continued support of 
PLR. Finally, I would like to give my most heartfelt gratitude to our 
editorial team and faculty advisor, Adam Fotos. I’m so fortunate to 
have worked with such devoted and talented people who crafted this 
volume into something special. This is PLR’s third issue created vir-
tually, and it’s thanks to everyone, both inside and outside of PLR, for 
their interest, support, and hard work that created a journal that I 
am truly proud of. Thank you! 
We did it! This is hopefully our last issue created entirely virtually, 
but I’m so grateful that we were able to consistently produce PLR 
despite the hurdles in our way. This is my second semester as editor in 
chief of Prairie Light Review, and I’m very blessed for the astounding 
team that made it undoubtedly special for me! We arranged this 
issue off of the cycle that many went through during the COVID19 
pandemic, whether that be the places they went or the concepts 
they confronted. Starting with nature, then moving to death, society, 
self-introspection/mental health, and ending on a higher note with 
connections and nostalgia. We hope that the journey this issue of 
PLR takes you on will allow you to reflect on the past while looking 
forward to the future. Once again, thank you!
   -Editor in Chief of Prairie Light Review, Jolie Vega 
Cover: Nika. Katy Cunningham
prairielightreview.com 
cod.edu/student_life/publications/prairie_light_review
1
et al.: Editorial Team
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2021


Editorial Team

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 43 
Number 2 Spring 2021 Article 7 
Spring 5-1-2021 
Table of Contents 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
(2021) "Table of Contents," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 43 : No. 2 , Article 7. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol43/iss2/7 
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 orenick@cod.edu. 
Table of Contents
Mayura • 1
Forest Morn • 6
Sterling Pond Waterfall • 7
April Blue  • 7
Turbulence • 8
Snowy Owl at Dusk • 9
The Moon • 9
LIFE CYCLE IN BLUE • 10
Paradise and Cempasuchil • 11
Farm House After Dark • 12 - 13
Welcome Home • 14 - 15
Change and Devour • 16
The Games We Used to Play • 17
It Is Dark Inside and Perfectly Clear • 17
Best Buds • 18
Underwood • 19 - 21
Sunset Boat Waves • 21
Suum Cuique - To Each What He Deserves • 22 - 23 
Playing Reveille While Holding a Bayonet and Your Skull • 24
Overwhelmed  • 25
Flowers for Truman • 26
The Power of the “Deceased” • 26 - 27
Racism is a Pandemic • 28 - 29
Kids in the Street • 30
In the Air (2002) • 31
Untitled • 32
Rochdale College • 33
This is all to say  • 34 - 35
Here in the Garden • 35
Humdrum • 36
Dimension • 37
4
1
et al.: Table of Contents
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2021
Sheros • 38
Note to a Stranger • 39
Walter Gropius • 40
Hello Eloise • 40 - 43
Untitled • 44
bewitching venom • 45 - 46
Caught in a Web • 47
Flowers for St. Germaine • 48
The End Point • 49
Warhol Collage Portrait • 50
The Fool • 51
SELF • 52
Ascension • 53
Emotions • 53 - 56
Wonder • 57
Birdsong • 58 - 59
Friendly Neighbors • 60 
Present • 61
Nirakaar • 62
Cosmic Blueprint • 63
Ode to Baseball and Men in Masks • 64 - 65
Fancy-dress party • 65
ORCHIDS OF THE ISLANDS: DAWN ON A HIGH HILL • 66
Three Sisters • 67
I fell for you like lucifer from heaven • 68
Float to the Moon • 69
Paris, Youth, Summer: Twenties • 70
Collage Meemo • 71 
Memories • 72
Nika • 73
Bliss • 73
5
2
The Prairie Light Review, Vol. 43, No. 2 [2021], Art. 7
https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol43/iss2/7


Knott, Judy

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 43 
Number 2 Spring 2021 Article 8 
Spring 5-1-2021 
Forest Moon 
Judy Knott 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Knott, Judy (2021) "Forest Moon," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 43 : No. 2 , Article 8. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol43/iss2/8 
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. 
Forest Morn                                 Judy Knott
Stepping outside on concrete stoop, I breathe in fresh, morning air.
Clutching strong brew of coffee, mug snuggled in both hands.
Taking the first sip of smooth, caramel color,
letting it simmer and settle before I swallow.
Appearing alongside, my resolute companion and escort.
A shepherd of dense black fur, his coat soaks in early day sun.
Performing his ritual bow, stretches from nose tip to tail end.
Discerning my actions, waiting to embark on the day’s first walk.
Harmonious, we step towards the expecting forest.
Setting foot and paw on sandy dirt, 
our trail holds company with pine and oak.
My confidant and coffee, lofty trees, the morning breeze
a heavenly blend, “Forest Morn” I dub thee.
                                                                         
(top right) Sterling Pond Waterfall. Jack Kreger. 
6
1
Knott: Forest Moon
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2021


Forest Moon

Kreger, Jack

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 43 
Number 2 Spring 2021 Article 16 
Spring 5-1-2021 
Farm House After Dark 
Jack Kreger 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Kreger, Jack (2021) "Farm House After Dark," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 43 : No. 2 , Article 16. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol43/iss2/16 
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. 
1
Kreger: Farm House After Dark
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2021


Farm House After Dark

Kennedy, Rachel

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 43 
Number 2 Spring 2021 Article 30 
Spring 5-1-2021 
Kids in the Street 
Rachel Kennedy 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Kennedy, Rachel (2021) "Kids in the Street," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 43 : No. 2 , Article 30. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol43/iss2/30 
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. 
Kids in the Street                                                                     Rachel Kennedy
Smoke fills the air. Buildings tremble
and rupture at the bombs’ fall.
Hatred beating from a drum struck centuries ago.
Two brothers fighting a battle already
Lost.
Cherished homes drowned in the blood
Of fallen fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters.
               And each night, the air grows heavier and louder
With screams from those already
Dead.
The Blood and War wage on. Night turns into day.
Dusk into dawn. A clock that keeps ticking on.
Survival is all that’s on their minds,
For one newborn breath may already be the
Last. 
When did our lives become meaningless slaughter?
Filthy words and seven seconds spent worlds away
Decide the lives of the kids here.
Screaming in the street the fight for life already 
Rob’d.
The seed that was planted eons ago in a moment of bitter hate,
Nurtured in blood, filled with venom to bring my sisters brothers, and I
Six feet deep, has reddened our hands for long enough
And will be burned from the fires within for we’re already
Pis’d.
We are the generation of the end.
End of slaughter, of massacre, of corpses scattered in the streets 
Frozen in the last horrors of their lives. This bloodshed 
Will never get our last breath for we are already
Gone.
Crumbling our own fortresses and leaving our weapons behind. Running,
Laughing down and across the devastation and rubble.
The kids who dare to hold hands and leave.
The war lost in the yesterdays, the kids who have already
Won.
30
1
Kennedy: Kids in the Street
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2021


Kids in the Street

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 43 
Number 2 Spring 2021 Article 55 
Spring 5-1-2021 
Friendly Neighbors 
Nikki Patel 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Patel, Nikki (2021) "Friendly Neighbors," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 43 : No. 2 , Article 55. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol43/iss2/55 
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. 
Friendly Neighbors. Nikki Patel
60
1
Patel: Friendly Neighbors
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2021


Friendly Neighbors

Fortier, Mardelle

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 43 
Number 2 Spring 2021 Article 65 
Spring 5-1-2021 
Paris, Youth, Summer: Twenties 
Mardelle Fortier 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Fortier, Mardelle (2021) "Paris, Youth, Summer: Twenties," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 43 : No. 2 , Article 
65. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol43/iss2/65 
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. 
Paris, Youth, Summer: Twenties                                   Mardelle Fortier
Rolling dice of the stars
Run to another café
On a plum-hued evening
Girl races past in midnight-blue cape
Stop at the Falstaff for brandy
And crabbing about Hemingway
So many young men
So little attention to our art
Are we wasting these electric nights
What do we have to write about
We’ve never known despair, acute loneliness,
Deep sorrow
Have we ever felt true hunger,
Terror, crazed frustration,
Powerlessness?
The worst anguish was when Father wrote
“Striving to be a poet is unmanly
I will cut your allowance in half”
(right) Collage Meemo. TJ Burm
70
1
Fortier: Paris, Youth, Summer: Twenties
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2021


Paris, Youth, Summer: Twenties

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 44 
Number 1 Fall 2021 Article 4 
Fall 12-1-2021 
Rolling Submissions 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
(2021) "Rolling Submissions," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 44 : No. 1 , Article 4. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol44/iss1/4 
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 orenick@cod.edu. 
About
The Prairie Light Review is the liberal arts journal of the College of 
DuPage. This biannual journal seeks to showcase the diverse work 
produced by creative individuals surrounding us. Our publication 
exists entirely because of our loyal community, as we only accept 
submissions from District 502 and rely on our team of student 
editors to edit, format, and produce the literary journal. Each piece 
submitted is evaluated anonymously in order to ensure objectivity. 
Join
To join our Editorial team, enroll in English 2210 for the upcoming 
semester! 
Direct additional inquiries to: 
 Adam Fotos, Faculty Advisor 
 fotosa@cod.edu
 630-942-3167
Rolling Submissions
The Prairie Light Review accepts submissions throughout the 
academic year. We accept submissions in any of the following 
categories: original fiction, nonfiction, essays, drama, poetry, 
graphic essays, black and white and color photography, and 2D 
and 3D artwork of any medium. If you are interested, please 
submit all work to:
 prairielightreviewsubmissions@gmail.com
Scholarship Info
The Budilovsky Literary Scholarship provides one $500 award per 
semester in conjunction with being published in the College of 
DuPage’s Prairie Light Review. To be considered for this award, the 
entrant must remain a student at COD the following semester and 
have written a quality piece of any type (i.e., essay, poem, short story, 
etc.). Preference will be made to pieces that are autobiographical in 
nature.
More at: 
         @cod_plr
prairielightreview.com 
cod.edu/student_life/publications/prairie_light_review
1
et al.: Rolling Submissions
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2021


Rolling Submissions

Harvey, Jack D.

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 44 
Number 1 Fall 2021 Article 14 
Fall 12-1-2021 
Mary Quite Contrary 
Jack D. Harvey 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Harvey, Jack D. (2021) "Mary Quite Contrary," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 44 : No. 1 , Article 14. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol44/iss1/14 
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. 
Bee. Photography. Kristen Cerney
Mary Quite Contrary
Mary’s passion,
contrary to
the popular old poem,
was not a garden, it was
a Harley-Davidson’s
hard saddle
under her ass.
Sitting astride it,
riding, riding
nowhere and
the only garden’s silver bells
and cockleshells were
tattooed on her arms.
Mother Goose, you should tell it so,
hard and true to the times
and leave the prissy miss
where you found her.
   - Jack D. Harvey
13
1
Harvey: Mary Quite Contrary
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2021


College of DuPage

Not a member yet

Float to the Moon

Editorial Team

Table of Contents

Forest Moon

Farm House After Dark

Kids in the Street

Friendly Neighbors

Paris, Youth, Summer: Twenties

Rolling Submissions

Mary Quite Contrary

7,467

11,908