Marian Burn Literary Arts Magazine Spring 2017

bu r n

[ v. 7 ] [ i. 2 ]

front cover “luminescence” [ aidan remmick ] 0&1 “flowers for grandma” [ scarlett wendergren ] 2&3 “4th” [ audrey ana otwell ] “isolation” [ julia veik ] breathe [ susana pettis ] wrapped up in the stars [ taylor sterba ] 4&5 “cinque terre” [ hannah kuiper ] “the sunshine state” [ parker stafford ] dar [ susana pettis ]

6&7 “quiet strength” [ parker stafford ] “chaos contained” [ elise langenfield ] forbidden [ tylin welch ] 8&9 “take flight” [ maddie warrick ] disappearing people [ brianna wessling ] church candles [ brooke huerter ] 10 & 11 “colors of ireland” [ sarah burnett ] “colorado” [ emma williams ] powerless [ brianna wessling ] 12 & 13 “endless color” [ audrey yost ]

[ art by scarlett wedergren ]

“flowers for grandma”

editorial policy

14 & 15 “ice cream” [ ella meis ] “a morning in michigan” [ claire pelan ] powerful beings [ katelin kearney ] 16 & 17 “mellow yellow” [ maggie dowd ] “wanderlust” [ audrey yost ] wake up [ kelly williams] 18 & 19 “don’t look down” [ kayla gornall ] “monday” [ becca williams ] latter former [ brooke huerter ] headlights [ lauren merfeld ] 20 & 21 “acrylic nature” [ becca williams } “ireland naturally” [ sarah burnett ] can’t click [ megan doehner ] 22 & 23 “dapper” [ maggie prosser ] “wrappers” [ ella meis ] lead of faith [ megan doehner ] 24 & 25 “surfer boi” [ reina flores ] fight or flight [ susana pettis ] on finding inspiration [ brianna wessling ] back cover “faceless floral” [ scarlett wendergren ]

Marian presents Burn, a literary magazine that strives to showcase the original artwork, photography, and creative writing of our student body. Burn is published twice a year, once per semester and we accept submissions from all grade levels.

Our submissions are judged anonymously and those that are selected are subject to minor grammatical or spelling corrections. Burn is a forum for creative student expression and our goal is to give students a place to publish their work and a place to have their peers appreciate their work. Burn is published by Automatic Printing Company. For the 2016-2017 school year, there will be 800 copies per semester. All titles of pieces and page numbers are set in FFF Tusj font. The text of the stories are set in GeoSans Light. The softwares used were Adobe InDesign CS6 and Adobe Phototshop CS6. Marian 7400 Military Ave. Omaha, NE 68134. burn@omahamarian.org

erin walter ‘17 (editor)

makayla sedlacek ‘18

bella carollo ’17

lauren merfeld ’17

morgan hobbs ’17

susana pettis ’17

julia hingorani ’18

becca williams ’17 (editor)

kate brashear ’19

lucy fishburn ‘17

emma williams ’19

julia veik ’18

’17 annika zimmerman

hali hansen ’19

tylin welch ’17

kathryn burbach ‘18

samantha fabian ’18

brianna wessling

kennedy gochenour ’18

’17

brooke huerter ’17

ms. christen (mod

erator)

01

wrapped up in the stars [ writing by taylor sterba ] I just need to be held Comforted by the universe and wrapped up in her galaxies I need to be spoken to softly, as if a loud word would shatter my bones I need a delicate kiss from a shooting star, however fleeting A sign of love from the wink of a star in the night sky would console this sadness Make me feel small, Universe, so I can make large discoveries Help me find my true self Make me vulnerable to your moon light to keep my pride from overflowing Tell me your truths for I seem to only be told lies Keep me from reality for I would not like to return

“isolation� [ photo by julia veik ]

03

“4th” [ photo by audrey ana otwell ]

breathe [ writing by susana pettis ]

When you blow up like a supernova and leave everything around you in tatters Somehow I’m left in the rubble as you stand and watch me struggle You could knock over every building every house everything that surrounds you and Walk away as if it had nothing to do with you You don’t stop to breathe or collect yourself You just want the outside to match your messed up inside

02

“cinque terre” [ photo by hanna kuiper ]

05

“the sunshine state”

[ photo by sparker stafford ]

dar

[ writing by susana pettis ]

Yo doy y sigo dando But it won’t be enough

Y sigo dando Even when you don’t ask

Y sigo dando Because I know it will make you happy

Y sigo dando Although I need it more

Y sigo dando

Because the word rolls off your tongue so easily Y sigo dando

As I hope you will see Y sigo dando

To reach that ideal image that is impossible for anyone to reach Y sigo dando Even while you build your walls

04

Y sigo dando Hasta que yo no tenga nada

“quiet strength” [ photo by parker stafford ]

forbidden [ writing by tylin welch ]

They say falling in love with a poet is something forbidden Something you hide from and shy away from at night Something that haunts you and is apart of your deepest fears because they said it’s forbidden Some type of taboo that corrupts your soul and tarnishes your heart Something that wraps its hands around your neck and tightens too tight before the noose does They said it’s forbidden Like the forbidden fruit hanging in the trees Swaying in the deep southern breeze They say it’s forbidden fruit It’s juices trickling down your lips before you can even finish devouring it Because it’ll devour you first Kind of like the brujería and black magic they perform Casting spells on you so you can conform to them and their ways But they said it’s forbidden I know why they say my fruit is poison Why my black magic is forbidden It’s because I can make you feel passion between your lips before you know what you’re saying I can trickle down your lips and send you out trying to satisfy your craving I’m no poison but I know why they say I’m forbidden

06

“chaos contained� [ art by elise langenfeld ]

07

disappearing people [ writing by brianna wessling ]

“We’re still going to be friends” We weren’t going to be friends, I knew that much I knew because we never were friends We were two people caught by circumstance and convenience And now you feel like a whisper whisked away by the wind “A lot of people in my life leave” I was going to be one of them, I knew that much I knew our time was already slipping through my fingers like sand in an hourglass There was only a minuscule part of me that wanted to stop it “I’m your friend, no matter what” This one was true, I thought I knew that much I thought glass friendships could last But you took a sledgehammer to ours You turned away before you could see the blood “You guys are going to be my bridesmaids” I mean every word, and I pray it holds true I pray our friendship is stone, not glass I pray we are not a whisper in the wind or sand in an hourglass Because if I get one thing out of this, I want it to be this friendship

“take flight” [ photo by maddie warrick ]

09

church candles [ writing by brooke huerter ]

When was the last time you watched two raindrops race to the bottom of the car window. if you can’t remember, well, it’s been too long Find the memories attached to your childhood and keep them Remember linoleum floors with yellow specks and chocolate milk cartons and your dad’s cigars and trading twizzlers for twix on Halloween Nostalgia is a good thing Find it.

Recall memories where you felt real joy and breathe in the smell of sunscreen and church candles and pine sol Fill your brain to the brim with remembrances of sidewalk chalk and when your mom brushed your hair with peanut butter and the time you spilled all the cherry coke and when you fell asleep on a wooden pew most Sundays Don’t forget to build forts out of sticks and watch raindrops race because your childhood does not end after elementary It ends when you let it.

08

powerless [ writing by brianna wessling ] Three days before I turned eighteen The world was taken out of my hands I was too young to be given a voice And the hope of so many was drowned out by screaming I felt my heart burning and my soul collapse I knew in that moment I had no power to change the way this earth spun At that moment I lived in a country that let hate drown out love We let bigotry deny acceptance a chance to breathe We let fear override compassion We let despair steal our hope Still tonight I shake with the rage and coldness of it

“colorado� [ photo by emma williams ]

10

I watch as every light seems to fade to darkness Still, I watch as voices are raised in defiance As they light a fire where each light has been put out I remember the power I feel when I hold a pen How we can tear down every wall they build with theirs And instead we build bridges and mend hearts We sow love back into the very soil of this country I see a million men and women marching in solidarity I find refuge in those who refuse to accept the lies I let a million hands sew my heart together As they remind me that not everything is lost Three months after I turned eighteen The world feels within reach again

“colors of ireland� [ photo by sarah burnett ]

11

12

“endless color” [ photo by audrey yost ]

13

{ photo by ella meis }

“ice cream”

powerful beings [ writing by katelin kearney ] They keep looking at me with those eyes.

Those eyes that scream for male domination.

They look at me and speak to me with such disrespect.

Looking at me as if I am clueless.

As if I am less important.

Thoseeyesconstantlystareatme,yellingout,“Youcan’t do that. You’re a girl.”

We are not paid as much as them.

We are told we must like certain things.

To be fearful of the other gender.

And all of this pushes me further.

Action must be taken.

Change must happen.

We should be treated with the utmost respect.

We should be seen as the intelligent beings we are.

14

We should be paid fairly.

The same amount of work equals the same amount of pay.

We are allowed to like whatever we may please.

We should not have to fear the other gender for any reason.

We should work until complete equality is reached.

I know that I have power.

The power to make those eyes watch me succeed.

I am powerful.

I am confident.

I am fearless.

I am courageous.

I am a girl.

A girl that will change the world.

“a morning in michigan� [ photo by claire pelan ]

15

“wanderlust” [ photo by audrey yost ]

“mellow yellow” [ photo by maggie dowd ]

16

wake up

[ writing by kelly williams ] Wake up.

Open your eyes and achieve your dreams.

The stars are yearning to be reached, Your ambitions, desperate to be accomplished.

So wake up, Today is your day, To learn, to grow, to blossom.

You will stumble, you will trip, and you will fall, But you can move mountains, Rearrange galaxies, Shatter the sound barrier, And soar to the sky, You will obliterate any obstacle challenging your path.

But you must wake up.

The air is still fresh, and the flowers are blooming, Ideas are unfolding, and goals are becoming unbreakable.

Just open your eyes, and take a great big leap because you’ll fly.

You’ll fly high above this universe, where nothing can stop you.

Gravity will work to shove you down, but it’s imperative you get back up.

It’s okay to rest, and it’s okay to be broken.

Stand strong, gather your energy, and fight back.

Get a running start and keep trying, keep flying, keep breaking the atmosphere.

Every dream you’ve ever had is right there, Waiting for you, Beckoning you, Wanting you and you only.

There’s risk in the sky, but there’s also potential, So wake up.

17

latter former [ writing by brooke huerter ] I am 17 I am confused I am sitting in a Quik Trip parking lot Eating Chinese take out food in my car And wondering if this is sad, Or some sort of metaphor for life I haven’t Figured out yet.

I am hopeful That it’s the latter.

I am 17 I am figuring it out I am staring blankly at the floor Trying to decide what “it” is & coming to the conclusion that it’s either Really pointless or really remarkable.

I am terrified That it’s the former.

18

“don’t look down” [ photo by kayla gornall ]

“monday”

[ photo by becca williams ]

headlights

[ writing by lauren merfeld ] im sitting here listening to god awful music watching all the headlights pass my window wondering why im not good enough why my hair wont fall the right way why my eyes don’t look like hers why my body disgusts me wondering why im not in one of those cars disturbing the lonely people’s sleep by flashing my headlights in their window and I’ve come to the conclusion that maybe it’s for the best maybe my hair is meant to be like this maybe my eyes look like galaxies at night maybe someone will love my body someday that maybe the lonely just need some sleep so ill continue to sit here until someone finds me some better music and the headlights don’t seem as bright

19

“acrylic nature” [ photo by becca williams ]

21

can’t click [ writing by megan doehner ] Sometimes when my mind is too empty I get around to thinking.

And the thought of thinking Rattles something inside me A blossom that I’m not sure I want to grow A light I wish would be just a bit dimmer A pen starting to run out of ink A straw that can’t quite reach the last of a milkshake Almost But not quite And the thought of thinking Makes me think to stub the thought To think that I never thought at all

20

“ireland naturally” [ photo by sarah burnett ]

“dapper� [ photo by maggie prosser ]

23

“wrappers” [ photo by ella meis ]

leap of faith [ writing by meghan doehner ]

And just in this moment I can feel myself falling Not for someone Not for something But for me Because in that rush to the ground I feel something And maybe that’s what I’m scared of most of all.

You were the rain before the storm, and boy you were beautiful But all you did is encourage this storm upon me, and boy did you mess me up

22

on finding inspiration [ writing by brianna wessling ] Sometimes it feels like I can only find inspiration in the extremes. I have to be burning or drowning or freezing to feel the words bringing me back to life. Sometimes I can only find them when I need them to bring me peace.

As it turns out, the times of peace are when I need the words the most. I need them to keep a storm at bay and to prevent the sun from ever setting. I cling to them until the palms of my hands are bloody and sore with the effort. I let the parts of me that are too heavy fall away because all I need are the words to help me climb into the clouds.

fight or flight [ writing by susana pettis ] Fight or flight At this point it’s hard to know who is right When people yell at each other over things as stupid at the color of our skin As the direction of our thoughts We fight and we fight or we get called out for it While people scream at a TV over sports Other stand on the street holding signs sporting grievances Or we run and we run And we become ignorant of the things around us We try to force our eyes open while Blindfolds are put over them

25

“surfer boi” [ photo by reina flores ]

24