Jeniya Dabish L’appel du vide

L’ appel du vide by Jeniya Dabish

Can you see it?

Us, standing among the corn pasture, wadding our heads to the sound of the wind and the taste of rain.

Swollen, our bodies fully enlightened between that of the burning blue sky and the sickening soil flattening beneath our feet.

It is here, among the corn, that we meet, Away, and lay against its grass and its hay, Looking to one another as if the satanic

Never changing pixelated curtain of our lives Has been lifted, and we can finally see each other for who we are, what we are made of,

And who we once were. It is here, among the corn, between the shuddering stalks and pierced, bleeding fingertips

That we are nothing more than children, Bare, pure, and completely oblivious to the filth Picking away at our toes, pulling up on our nightgowns, and unbuttoning our pants

It is here, among the corn pasture, That together, naked, and innocent, that we allow our young to become fully

submerged within the pixelated curtain, Never to be seen the same again. It is here, among the corn pasture,

That we lay willing, Mortified as to what has happened, But staggered as to what is yet to come.

For now, and all eternity.

Jeniya Dabish is a first-year student and has a real passion for all things literature. Jeniya is a triplet from Northville, MI. She has been writing since she was in elementary school and doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon. She is majoring in Family Studies and is double minoring in Child Development and English. Jeniya has been a part-time volunteer at Oakley Park Elementary School in Walled Lake, MI, since 2018 as a teaching assistant in the kindergarten classrooms. In her free time, Jeniya loves spending time with friends and family, Disney, The Sims, Animal Crossing, and expressing her creativity through poetry and fiction. In the future, she hopes to pursue an MFA.

Kayla Szymanski is a sophomore Honors student majoring in Secondary English Education from New Lenox, IL. She is currently an editor for the Honors Platform and Great Lakes Platform. On campus, Kayla is the Larzelere Hall Vice President, a Front Desk Receptionist, and Honors 100 teaching assistant. She enjoys helping mentees, committee members, and high school students find meaningful ways to express their passions. In her free time, Kayla enjoys reading, dancing, playing badminton, cross-stitching, and writing.