Fort Hays State University

Wingless by Nana Yaa Ababio Nursing, Undergraduat

Ababio, Nana Yaa

Lines from the Middle of Nowhere 
Volume 2021 Issue 1 Article 27 
February 2025 
Wingless 
Nana Yaa Ababio 
Fort Hays State University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines 
Recommended Citation 
Ababio, Nana Yaa (2025) "Wingless," Lines from the Middle of Nowhere: Vol. 2021: Iss. 1, Article 27. 
Available at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines/vol2021/iss1/27 
This Poetry is brought to you for free and open access by the Peer-Reviewed Journals at FHSU Scholars 
Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Lines from the Middle of Nowhere by an authorized editor of FHSU 
Scholars Repository. For more information, please contact ScholarsRepository@fhsu.edu. 
Wingless
by Nana Yaa Ababio
Nursing, Undergraduate
They clipped my wings and called it a trim.
They clipped away all my flying feathers.
Now, all I am left with are the tiny ones:
The ones for warmth and the fake ones they gave me for decoration,
But even then, I am so cold.
Those hypocrites! I should have known that they couldn’t fly.
They stood around in the same spot all day, criticizing those who flapped their 
wings and soared through the sky.
Yet, they said that the fake-feathered were the most fearless.
I should have seen through that lie.
Now all my dreams lay wasted beside me,
All those days and nights spent watching the sky.
I dreamed of when I would finally fly.
I dreamed of soaring through the never-ending skies.
But those hypocrites, oh those hypocrites,
They clipped my wings and called it a trim.
41 1
Ababio: Wingless
Published by FHSU Scholars Repository,


English

Wingless

Editorial Staff, Lines

Lines from the Middle of Nowhere - Volume 2019 Full Issue

Lines from the Middle of Nowhere 
Volume 2019 Issue 1 Article 2 
February 2025 
Lines from the Middle of Nowhere - Volume 2019 Front Matter 
Lines Editorial Staff 
Fort Hays State University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines 
Recommended Citation 
Editorial Staff, Lines (2025) "Lines from the Middle of Nowhere - Volume 2019 Front Matter," Lines from 
the Middle of Nowhere: Vol. 2019: Iss. 1, Article 2. 
Available at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines/vol2019/iss1/2 
This Creative Non-fiction is brought to you for free and open access by the Peer-Reviewed Journals at FHSU 
Scholars Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Lines from the Middle of Nowhere by an authorized 
editor of FHSU Scholars Repository. For more information, please contact ScholarsRepository@fhsu.edu. 
lines issue 31 // 2019a literary and arts journal
from the middle of nowhere
1
Editorial Staff: Lines from the Middle of Nowhere - Volume 2019 Front Matter
Published by FHSU Scholars Repository, 2019
A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
As editor, I am proud to present the 2018-2019 edition of Fort Hays State 
University’s Lines from the Middle of Nowhere, published by the Rho Psi 
Chapter of Sigma Tau Delta. The works within this edition truly represent 
the superb talent found at FHSU. The artists and authors have left part of 
themselves in their work, and I hope as a reader you fi nd both comfort and 
joy in the works off ered.
This journal would not be possible without the fi nancial support of FHSU’s 
Student Government Association, the constant encouragement of our 
chapter advisor Dr. Lexey Bartlett, and the editorial board members of 
Sigma Tau Delta who volunteered many hours to review submissions and 
design layout for this edition of Lines. Thank you for all of your work.
I am honored to have been part of this publication. I hope that you enjoy 
reading this journal as much as I enjoyed serving as editor.
Sincerely,
Judy Sansom
Editor
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Lines from the Middle of Nowhere, Vol. 2019, Iss. 1 [2019], Art. 2
https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines/vol2019/iss1/2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
When She Was a Kid 
Pastels
One Night in Winter
Demons
Spiders
Awaiting Roswell
Plaza of Peace
Wonder and Awe
Come to the Water
Relapse
Shadows of She
Enough
Wishful Thinking
My Love Is Enough
Poetry
Visual
Prose
9
10
12
13
14
15
16
20
21
22
29
30
31
33
Caeli (Self Portrait in Blue)
The Barrier between Us
Death Is Watching
The Sport of Chinlone
Lightshow
In Light of Eternity
Breaking Dawn
Colorful Refl ection
Unmade Wishes
Bagan, Myanmar
It Takes Work
8
11
12
17
20
22
27
28
31
32
38
All the Maybes
Five Reasons
Red and Black Plaid
Switch
4
18
23
34
3
Editorial Staff: Lines from the Middle of Nowhere - Volume 2019 Front Matter
Published by FHSU Scholars Repository, 2019


Lines from the Middle of Nowhere - Volume 2019 Front Matter

In Light of Eternity By Mc Kenna O\u27Hare Multimedi

O\u27Hare, McKenna

Lines from the Middle of Nowhere 
Volume 2019 Issue 1 Article 20 
February 2025 
In Light of Eternity 
McKenna O'Hare 
Fort Hays State University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines 
Recommended Citation 
O'Hare, McKenna (2025) "In Light of Eternity," Lines from the Middle of Nowhere: Vol. 2019: Iss. 1, Article 
20. 
Available at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines/vol2019/iss1/20 
This Artwork is brought to you for free and open access by the Peer-Reviewed Journals at FHSU Scholars 
Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Lines from the Middle of Nowhere by an authorized editor of FHSU 
Scholars Repository. For more information, please contact ScholarsRepository@fhsu.edu. 
1
O'Hare: In Light of Eternity
Published by FHSU Scholars Repository, 2019


In Light of Eternity

Breaking Dawn By Mc Kenna O\u27Hare Graphit

Lines from the Middle of Nowhere 
Volume 2019 Issue 1 Article 22 
February 2025 
Breaking Dawn 
McKenna O'Hare 
Fort Hays State University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines 
Recommended Citation 
O'Hare, McKenna (2025) "Breaking Dawn," Lines from the Middle of Nowhere: Vol. 2019: Iss. 1, Article 22. 
Available at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines/vol2019/iss1/22 
This Artwork is brought to you for free and open access by the Peer-Reviewed Journals at FHSU Scholars 
Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Lines from the Middle of Nowhere by an authorized editor of FHSU 
Scholars Repository. For more information, please contact ScholarsRepository@fhsu.edu. 
1
O'Hare: Breaking Dawn
Published by FHSU Scholars Repository, 2019


Breaking Dawn

Linder, Emily

Lines from the Middle of Nowhere 
Volume 2018 Issue 1 Article 21 
February 2025 
Beauty Mark 
Emily Linder 
Fort Hays State University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines 
Recommended Citation 
Linder, Emily (2025) "Beauty Mark," Lines from the Middle of Nowhere: Vol. 2018: Iss. 1, Article 21. 
Available at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines/vol2018/iss1/21 
This Poetry is brought to you for free and open access by the Peer-Reviewed Journals at FHSU Scholars 
Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Lines from the Middle of Nowhere by an authorized editor of FHSU 
Scholars Repository. For more information, please contact ScholarsRepository@fhsu.edu. 
26
Not in worship, but in acceptance.
All-natural brows frame the hooded icy blue eyes, unadorned.
A mole rests to the side of her brow; a period, the end of an unspoken 
conversation. 
Farther down, an aquiline nose perches above a thin, pouty mouth, the home of a 
sharp tongue.
A year ago, a diff erent girl peered back from the depths
Until she didn’t.
Beauty Mark
Emily Linder
KAMS, Senior
Raccoons reapply their masks,
Touching up their sneering grins and shifty eyes. 
Worse than sirens, trusting those doe-eyes is all it takes to 
bleed out, left for dead. 
If anyone should know, it would be her.
The cast-aside girl in the bathroom stall,
Where the locks are installed upside-down
And privacy relies on the constant pressure of her boot tread on the door.
As fl imsy a shield now as it was a year ago,
The word “bitch” still scratched into the chipped grey fi nish.
Never again will she worship at another self-centered altar,
Airbrushing and plucking every fl aw before that fi nal bell.
She will, however, sneak into the predatory church,
And take up her spot in the fi fth metal confessional, awaiting the inevitable.
Rue 21 and PINK enter on cue, HOTKISS trailing behind
Skipping study hall in the name of contour and cover-up.
Voices blend, a chorus of gossip and slang,
Painting themselves a false shade of perfect.
Emerging only after the congregation of scavengers have tamed themselves,
She goes to the sinks, sprinkled with porcelain powder, and washes her hands.
Inevitably, she will look up,
1
Linder: Beauty Mark
Published by FHSU Scholars Repository, 2018
27
The stranger in the mirror turned her back and walked away,
And the wounded animal the girl had become attacked a polished metal canvas, 
Her protection from the empty refl ection, her onslaught a single word.
Bitch. As much for them as it was for herself, 
For the false idol they still cling to as the actual goddess gets buried far beneath. 
That dot by her eye fi nally exhumed from its painted tomb
The need for plastic friends washed down the drain.
Senior year fi nally fi nds beauty in her face,
And the girl behind the glass has been set free.
2
Lines from the Middle of Nowhere, Vol. 2018, Iss. 1 [2018], Art. 21
https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines/vol2018/iss1/21


Beauty Mark

Hammeke, Merritt

Lines from the Middle of Nowhere 
Volume 2018 Issue 1 Article 24 
February 2025 
Wet Sand 
Merritt Hammeke 
Fort Hays State University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines 
Recommended Citation 
Hammeke, Merritt (2025) "Wet Sand," Lines from the Middle of Nowhere: Vol. 2018: Iss. 1, Article 24. 
Available at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines/vol2018/iss1/24 
This Poetry is brought to you for free and open access by the Peer-Reviewed Journals at FHSU Scholars 
Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Lines from the Middle of Nowhere by an authorized editor of FHSU 
Scholars Repository. For more information, please contact ScholarsRepository@fhsu.edu. 
29
Wet Sand
Meritt Hammeke
English, Senior
They take a seat among the rocks
And watch boards leave the beach.
They watch the gulls—in great fl ocks—
Lead those boards to sea. 
They watch night riders climb soft swells
And gently ride them through—
Some glide back to the bank;
Some wash into the blue.
The hours fl y, far too quick,
When sitting hand in hand—
But when they leave he’ll fi nd a stick
And write their names in sand. 
1
Hammeke: Wet Sand
Published by FHSU Scholars Repository, 2018


Wet Sand

I WAS RUNNING AWAY FROM THE COMPETITION, BUT AWAY FROM MYSELF by Grahm Schneider General Studie

Schneider, Graham

Lines from the Middle of Nowhere 
Volume 2017 Issue 1 Article 10 
February 2025 
I Was Running Away From The Competition, but Away From 
Myself 
Graham Schneider 
Fort Hays State University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines 
Recommended Citation 
Schneider, Graham (2025) "I Was Running Away From The Competition, but Away From Myself," Lines 
from the Middle of Nowhere: Vol. 2017: Iss. 1, Article 10. 
Available at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines/vol2017/iss1/10 
This Creative Non-fiction is brought to you for free and open access by the Peer-Reviewed Journals at FHSU 
Scholars Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Lines from the Middle of Nowhere by an authorized 
editor of FHSU Scholars Repository. For more information, please contact ScholarsRepository@fhsu.edu. 
9
 I was an addict, addicted to the active lifestyle, being involved in 
sports, being well-liked by my friends, and being someone that always 
wanted to feel accepted by everyone. Even though I was a four-sport 
athlete in high school, no amount of training was ever enough to carry 
the weight that I had bearing down on my shoulders. 
 Sports became my outlet in life. I relied heavily on the ability to 
release my emotions, feelings, anger, and fear through sports. I was 
always busy and constantly involved season year round since the time I 
could walk, because sports were the norm in my family. It wasn’t until a 
pulled hamstring during my senior track season in high school that my 
reality had fi nally caught up to the scared young man running away from 
it. I was a gay man, who was growing up in conservative Nebraska. 
 Soon after the hamstring injury, I fi nally got time to myself, a 
concept I was not used to at the time. From an early age, I knew I was 
gay and it was not the norm for everyone around me. Growing up, no gay 
role models to look up to and connect with were present, let alone a gay 
athlete. In the span of just a few months, I became severely depressed. 
I was no longer the happy and carefree man that my friends and family 
had known me to be. I was fi ghting a battle that no one could see. On a 
lonely, star-fi lled summer night, just four short years ago, I hit a bottom 
I was hoping I would never hit. The weight of not only being gay, but a 
gay athlete, something that was considered an anomaly, fi nally caved in 
on me. I was alone in my bathroom, silently sitting in the corner yielding 
a serrated kitchen knife, scared and lonely. In my head, I thought there 
was no one who could help me and no one that I could turn to help me. 
I then cut myself three separate times on my left wrist, scars that are 
still visible to this day and will be forever a permanent reminder of that 
dreadful and lonely night. 
 I soon realized that I could no longer do this on my own. I 
needed help and I needed it quick. I found it through my best friend and 
teammate. I will never forget his reaction on the night I fi nally said those 
two words aloud for the very fi rst time, “I’m gay.” His reaction, in a way, 
supported my notions and actions. No one had known that I was gay and 
it came as a shock, but what he said after the fact are words that I carry 
with me forever. He told me that he would always support and love me 
I WAS RUNNING AWAY FROM THE 
COMPETITION, BUT AWAY FROM MYSELF
by Grahm Schneider
General Studies
1
Schneider: I Was Running Away From The Competition, but Away From Myself
Published by FHSU Scholars Repository, 2017
10
no matter who I am and what I do. It was in that moment I felt the weight 
come off my shoulders—I was becoming myself again. With the full 
support of my closest friends, I knew it was time to fi nally tell my family. 
When I told my parents I was gay, I was still very afraid and unsure of 
what my future held. It was confusing at fi rst. I sent my parents on a 
roller-coaster ride that seemed to shatter their dreams for the man I 
was becoming. However, one thing was for certain, they loved me no 
matter what. It was an odd few months, but with the support and help of 
my two siblings, my parents became accustomed to the gay man that I 
am. Our family has become closer since that day as I was able to fi nally 
be who I was around them and feel loved.
 Finally, I felt able to breathe again, renewed, and inspired. 
Sports became my go to again. I was still rehabbing from yet another 
hamstring injury, but I became more focused and determined to come 
back from this injury now that I had a clear mind. I rehabbed for 18 
months, 18 incredibly frustrating months of continual work in order 
to get back on the track. After completing my fi rst year of college and 
fi nally kicking my depression and almost a year’s fi ght with the mental 
illness, I had decided to transfer schools in order to get a fresh start. I 
took this fresh start as an opportunity to fi nally be my true authentic self 
from the get go. On my visit to Fort Hays State University, I had informed 
the track coach that I was gay and the rest is history. As a track and 
fi eld athlete, I became the fi rst openly gay athlete in the history of Fort 
Hays State University. Although my fi rst year competing at Fort Hays 
had left me even more frustrated as my times had taken a dramatic 
drop, the hunger to improve was still present. During my junior year, 
I fi nally pulled it all together for a 9th place fi nish at the outdoor MIAA 
conference meet in the 400 hurdles. Being able to compete again, I was 
competing for me, not trying to run away from the “monster” that was 
chasing me. Track became my solace and happy place. I was extremely 
proud of what I had accomplished. No I didn’t place at conference, but 
I overcame 26 hamstring strains and competed well enough to earn a 
track scholarship. My proudest accomplishment was fi nally being true to 
myself, an openly gay athlete. I became that person that I was looking for 
growing up, an openly gay man that competes in sports and overcomes 
all of the obstacles thrown at them in their life. I wanted to become 
someone that people can come to with questions, and I can proudly say 
that I have helped numerous people who are following in my footprints. 
In rural western Kansas, I am a proud, gay ally in a highly conservative 
state, an unlikely place for someone like me, but what I found here was 
nothing but acceptance and support. 
2
Lines from the Middle of Nowhere, Vol. 2017, Iss. 1 [2017], Art. 10
https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines/vol2017/iss1/10


I Was Running Away From The Competition, but Away From Myself

SECOND THOUGHTS by Sarah Holzmeister Englis

Holzmeister, Sarah

Lines from the Middle of Nowhere 
Volume 2017 Issue 1 Article 22 
February 2025 
Second Thoughts 
Sarah Holzmeister 
Fort Hays State University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines 
Recommended Citation 
Holzmeister, Sarah (2025) "Second Thoughts," Lines from the Middle of Nowhere: Vol. 2017: Iss. 1, Article 
22. 
Available at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines/vol2017/iss1/22 
This Short Fiction is brought to you for free and open access by the Peer-Reviewed Journals at FHSU Scholars 
Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Lines from the Middle of Nowhere by an authorized editor of FHSU 
Scholars Repository. For more information, please contact ScholarsRepository@fhsu.edu. 
SECOND THOUGHTS
by Sarah Holzmeister
English
You left on a Tuesday afternoon. It was pouring outside and you had just 
brought the kids home from school.
“I have some work to do, so don’t wait on me for dinner,” you said without 
looking me in the eye as you turned to leave.
You didn’t seem yourself and I wondered what could possibly be 
so important. 
Two hours later—I received the call. 
The police report said your car was struck by a semi on the highway by 
the airport. Apparently, you were making a U-turn. 
When the offi cers asked if I knew where you were headed, I told them no. 
I had no idea why you’d be on that end of town in the fi rst place.
“He wasn’t going on a trip?” They asked.
Through tears, I told them you wouldn’t leave without letting the kids and 
me know.
“There weren’t any bags in the car, but we thought we’d check just in 
case. Maybe check his phone for the last calls he made,” they said as 
they handed me your belongings.
It’s been two weeks.
The doctors told me the medically induced coma was necessary, but 
there’s still no guarantee you’ll survive.
I’ve held your hand and prayed every day for you to pull through for 
your family. 
But as I watch you fi ght for your life, I wonder if it’s for us, or for the 
woman I’ve seen pacing outside your door.
20
1
Holzmeister: Second Thoughts
Published by FHSU Scholars Repository, 2017


Second Thoughts

WHEN WE GROW OLD by Dalton Steinert Accountin

Steinert, Dalton

Lines from the Middle of Nowhere 
Volume 2017 Issue 1 Article 28 
February 2025 
When We Grow Old 
Dalton Steinert 
Fort Hays State University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines 
Recommended Citation 
Steinert, Dalton (2025) "When We Grow Old," Lines from the Middle of Nowhere: Vol. 2017: Iss. 1, Article 
28. 
Available at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/lines/vol2017/iss1/28 
This Poetry is brought to you for free and open access by the Peer-Reviewed Journals at FHSU Scholars 
Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Lines from the Middle of Nowhere by an authorized editor of FHSU 
Scholars Repository. For more information, please contact ScholarsRepository@fhsu.edu. 
1
Steinert: When We Grow Old
Published by FHSU Scholars Repository, 2017
