Author Archives: theatala

Sophia Lopez is finishing her sophomore year at Pembroke Pines Charter High School. Hunting, which won 2nd place in the 4th annual Pembroke Pines student art competition and was on display at the ArtFest, was created using colored pencil.

An ekphrastic poem is inspired by a work of art. “Washing Away My Grief with the Sea” was inspired by Georges Seurat’s Port En Bessin The Semaphor and Cliffs. Waves wash over me, ignoring the exhaustion That threatens to overtake me. Engulf me like the ships, that smack their lips, waiting to swallow its nextContinue reading “Washing Away My Grief with the Sea”

I feel like a cup of old paint water.I’m not even sure what that means. It’s the same way that I feel likean old rubber bandon my bedroom floor.I meant to pick it up months ago, but it never budged. I say that I’ll pick it uptomorrow,and tomorrow,and tomorrow,and tomorrow – Until a whole summerContinue reading “It Took Me Longer to Title Poem Than It Did to Write It”

After what had felt like forever, we finally pulled up to the parking lot. I got out and walked to the entrance, where a large red and white sign hung above. The strong smell of wood hit me as I opened the double glass doors. I heard the clashing sounds of off-beat drums, untuned guitarsContinue reading “Blue Beauty”

A Shrinklit poem uses rhyming lines of poetry to summarize a novel’s main plot, conflicts, and themes. This poem is based on War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. Shrink, a pane of common worldThat lives and breathes in smoke.An unknown pod, a race unfurledYet ne’er a word was spoke. Turn and toil, walk andContinue reading “Righteous Earth”

A villanelle is a French verse form in nineteen lines that follows a specific pattern of two rhymes and an alternating refrain. I stay searching for the girl in the red dress With wounded beauty – wings clipped – she flew Oh, why could I not see the cause of her distress? On her softContinue reading “The Girl in the Red Dress”

The first time I was in the air, I thought I was going to die. Starcraft cabins are so much smaller than I expected, and the noises it was making under the Gs reminded me of a can getting crushed and I wasn’t exactly thrilled by the prospect of becoming the soda. If training wasn’tContinue reading “I Need Space”

Cyrus walked further into the forest, his hand around the girl’s waist. She was huddled next to him, her breathing off. He hadn’t meant to take her out for so long. He simply wanted to take Clementine out to a flower field he saw once during his daily walk— a geranium field, she told himContinue reading “The Foxglove’s Request”

An ekphrastic poem is inspired by a work of art. “The Allure of Home” is inspired by Georges Seurat’s painting, Port En Bessin The Outer Harbor Low Tide. Salty wind pushes at the falling tide. Blue serenity veils the town as a melancholy buzz flows through the idle docks. A boat pushes through the harbor:Continue reading “The Allure of Home”

Mushrooms play a vital role in the ecosystem as decomposers; in their absence, the nutrient cycle and the food chain would fall apart. Despite their great importance, their negative reputation doesn’t follow suit. Similarly, Emily Dickinson often incorporates the fact that Nature can be deceiving by revealing contrasting features to note the duality of (human)Continue reading “Dickinson’s “The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants”: Subverting Social Expectations”