Author Archives: theatala

The high beams illuminated the dark gray asphalt road that stretched on for miles. The moon shimmered against the black of the night sky. It played a repetitive game of hide and seek with me. We never took turns playing each role. I was the seeker, and it only hid – coveting itself behind theContinue reading “Hiding Under the Light of the Moon”

Kyle Merchant is a graduating senior at Pembroke Pines Charter High School. He has always been comfortable with traditional art, but has recently been experimenting with digital art! His pieces focus on the use of colors and shapes that guide a viewer’s eyes to specific areas. “Helix” won the this year’s atala cover art contest.

This My Outline I am not your straight line,anymore.That, has spanned far enough you and I can see from end to end narrow and cutthroat, so distinct from being traced over again,not scribbled, mindless, messy swirls and waves thatdance around themselves. Coiling and colorfullike the ink that gets imprinted on my right handfrom drawing. YourContinue reading “(This) My Outline”

I was born to fly.  At least, that’s what they told me.  I grew up falling asleep every night hearing stories of the great migration of our species, a perilous but glorious coming-of-age journey halfway across the globe, from the very top of North America to the western jungles of Brazil. From the moment IContinue reading “Flight”

Click HERE to view cover art by Kyle Merchant Please click on thumbnails below to view the full content of each work: Our Spring 2024 issue of the atala was designed, curated, and edited by Editor in Chief Kiley Irizarry and NEHS Advisor Ms. Sarah Phelps. Our 2023-24 atala social media manager was Ariana Lesmes.

Virginia is a cruel place–all you could hear was the weeping of separated mothersall you could see was the miles of unpicked labor all you could taste was the iron from biting your fleshy cheekall you could smell was the rotting of the hanging treeall you could feel was the searing of deep whipped gashesContinue reading “A Song For Sally (and the thousand other slave girls like her)”

Set amidst the dark trenches of World War I, Siegfried Sassoon’s sonnet “Dreamers” paints a moving picture of the mental and physical battles faced by soldiers at war, using his own experiences as a backdrop. The poet weaves a narrative that switches between the horrific realities of conflict and soldiers’ inner yearnings. In contrast toContinue reading “Exploring the Depths of Soldiers’ Psyches in “Dreamers””

Emily Arcia is a student artist at Pembroke Pines Charter High School who is finishing up her junior year. She enjoys drawing a variety of things from colorful compositions to horror abominations.

An ekphrastic poem is inspired by a work of art. Ariana Bonilla’s “Under The Same Moon” is inspired by Edvard Munch’s 1892 painting, The Mystery of a Summer Night. In the heart of a summer nightthe grasses sway and the moon swoonsover the sleepy town below it.For she too wishes for a quaint lifethough sheContinue reading “Under The Same Moon”

Evan Omana is finishing up his sophomore year and is graphic editor of the schools CHAT newspaper. He started getting into art last year and and particularly loves making art digitally using photoshop! He also practices krav maga and plays guitar.