World in Her Hands

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Upside Down World

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A Minivan Grew Wings

By Evelyn Olivares

A bumpy ride to elementary school and later a trip to a university, trunk overflowing with new-born dreams and strawberry pink garbage bags.

Weaving our voices with the radio after unintentionally memorizing lyrics to songs that play a few dozen times.

Eating yakisoba and teriyaki and tearing styrofoam to make 5 plates, loyal customers until the restaurant’s final days.

Laying on the backseat and conversing with the stars. They never talked back, but the minivan hummed after my rants.

I’ve meshed my cheek onto the icy window and marveled at the clouds and the disappearing sun.

It stormed through hail, was our blade in the wind, and welcomed the rain.

It has driven up a mountain’s spiraling roads, by trees enveloped in snow, and through the California heat.

Reuniting after two decades, my parents finally got to share their favorite locations with my grandfather and grandmothers. It was one of the only times the minivan flew: all of our dreams had become a reality. Our hopes for the future guide the minivan. They race with us as we drive to a new place they want us to see. When the minivan tires and slows down, they place their hands on the back of the vehicle and push us forward.

The minivan will age, the ceiling’s fabric will droop and pool: it will become irreparable. But for now, we laugh with it, thanking the minivan for giving us safe passage with song.

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Desired Unveiling

After Rene Magritte, The Therapist, 1937

By: Nahomi Alemu

Shame is a cloak,
unequivocally masking the unpleasant.
When I peek from under
it is my reflection I see
only, what stands before me is distant.

Like a cold salty shore
and an infinite horizon of vapor
we stand on opposite ends.
separated by a confinement
of my making.

I yearn so deeply
to embrace my reflection,
to ignite like a match stick
vigorously stricken,
to become one again.

We could take flight
to the tune
of the whistling wind,
leaving behind the stiff bars
of self judgement
that I had placed
part of myself in.

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The Guardian Angel Rests

after Galina Zhiganova,  A Woman Cuts the Hem of a Kimono so as Not to Wake a Cat, 2007

By Sofie Zarceno

Before I leave to face the world I give her a kiss goodbye She gives me a stare A glare that says I love you

Her eyes open wide as I come back home I’m sure I had her worried She licks her fur as I get ready for bed Guarding me as she sees fit Always by my side She likes to stay Keeping me warm And protected

She curls up in her spot to my leftAnd finally closes her eyesKnowing I am safe The least I can doIs let her sleep

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Water Sign

By Josie Bacon

Inside me is an oceanCerulean and flickeringNever ending and nonexistentThe tide swells with my prideAnd silver fish twirl beneath the surface with my joyMy laughter is a pod of dolphins leapingAnd the sky turns a rosy sunset hue when I’m in loveThe weather changes along with my moodIt can happen suddenly, in an instantWhirlpools form with my anxietySwirling downward into deep darknessRain pours in with my sadnessWaves crash with my rageBut in time my serenity always returnsAnd with it, the frothy water stillsAnd the champagne fish resume their glittering pirouettes

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Arcturus 2022 Launch Party on June 9th

The launch of Arcturus 2022 will be held at 11am on June 9th in the Mt. Constance room of Building 8. There will be free copies of the journal as well as food and refreshments. Stay to enjoy some poetry and prose readings by Arcturus contributors!

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Tomorrow’s Promise

Emily Hamilton

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Midnight Drives

by Anisa Dahir

Late-night drives, window rolled all the way down

As the wind blows and the moon is full

Speeding down the road

Everything is clear, the path ahead of us, our minds

With new problems to worry about tomorrow

With no solutions

 

Deep into the darkness

Midnight nearing, and hope for a better day We drive,

the town behind us getting smaller and smaller

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Hidden Galaxies

by Emily Hamilton

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