Author Archives: theatala

*An ode is a lyric poem that addresses and celebrates something or someone. The doors leading to classrooms Short halls going nowhere but to school… On my way back from the bathroom, I glance into the rooms—Some with windows, most without— And see them full of zombies. Ninth graders learning algebra, Tenth precalculus, Eleventh APContinue reading “Ode to Seniority”

An ekphrastic poem is inspired by a work of art. “Woven Thoughts” is inspired by Jacob Lawrence’s 1946 painting, The Seamstress. https://oac.ohio.gov/Riffe-Gallery/Past-Exhibitions/Masterworks/lc/18103/lcv/s/jacob-lawrence-seamstress-1946 I must not let hate | get in the way of my own dream. Sewing clothes | has been my dream. This machine will | make me live my dream. This machine willContinue reading “Woven Thoughts”

“Goodnight, kiddo,” my dad said. Turning over, he kicked the tent and groaned. But it didn’t take long for him to fall asleep. “Goodnight,” I mumbled. He yanked the blanket from me, revealing the true strength of the wind that night. Staring at the ceiling of the tent I felt uneasy. The cold currents rustledContinue reading “Her Call”

Let my body run And my mind escape Travel to space Let it dance and shower in the sun’s harsh rays Let it be I’m pulled down to sit in a desk By a big tree With crowded branches that are so close to me No it won’t set me free  Helen Godoy is aContinue reading “Itching”

Leaf-like thoughts  flutter and fall as I forget  But to the soil they go  Enriching the ground  From which new trees, and leaves, will grow. Alan Mathew is a high school senior at PPCHS and an aspiring writer. Plagued with cluelessness and clarity in unequal measure, Alan continues his effort to find the shapes of important ideas throughContinue reading “Leaf-Like Thoughts”

talk to me in the tone that only i use tell me i’m like the penny in your change and that i’m worthless unless i change talk to me in that tone do it just like how i say i’m nothing more than the lumpy stone that keeps cracking in the driveway say it theContinue reading “say it like i do”

The first morning I awoke under your roof, it was March, and I ventured into your garden for a stroll over installed stepping stone paths, towards cold, stony-faced statues to tend to flower beds in full splendor reclining like nudes in the sun while you, rigid, clothed, sat between busts of dead men over aContinue reading “Pushing Up Lilies”

 Carolina Calonge has been in NEHS for two years now and enjoys reading historical fiction. She usually uses physical mediums such as ink to create her art, but created this piece digitally as cover art for the atala’s inaugural issue.

In The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood’s use of the fairytale motif as a framework for the novel critiques our innate desire for archetypes, exposes the innocuous nature of oppression, and highlights the flaws of cruel optimism. Atwood subverts the innocence of predictable, archetypal tropes in fairy tales to call into question the concept of a hero.Continue reading “The Collective Unconscious, The Death Drive, and Cruel Optimism: Pessimism as a Framework for 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒅’𝒔 𝑻𝒂𝒍𝒆”

Marcella Lesmes is a junior at PPCHS and enjoys making art. She has been doing art for about 7 years. Although she usually uses acrylic paints, in this piece she went with watercolors and pens.