WHEREABOUTS The Atlas Domain ISSUE 01
Team
Viniz Caceres Editor-in-Chief
Sher Loyola Teacher Partner
Avery Potter
Fatima Kashif
Meera Ettie
Onos Paris
Paridhi Jain
Sylvia Marie Staff Writers
Editor's Note
The Atlas Domain has been a tangible embodiment of a dream come true. I used to doubt the progress of this literary magazine, stressing over every minor detail. Nonetheless, as I was preparing for the publishing of ISSUE 01, I learned to intentionally read through submissions, appreciate the staff members, and value how far The Atlas Domain has come. I found a community of other literary magazines and individuals who love literature as much as I do. That alone is enough. I can only hope that as you read the contents of the next pages, you will be fulfilled and inspired to pour out into words the ever blooming thoughts that would be merely ideas otherwise.
Viniz Caceres Editor-in-Chief
Ms. Loyola's Note
Browsing and reading through literary magazines was one of my fondest childhood memories! Written expression is a form of artistic discipline, transporting your creative ideas to digital platforms nowadays. Keep the blazing fire alive no matter what! Writing is sharing to your audience! Let me say this I am proud of every single word you would want to share to The Atlas Domain! Keep sharing!
Sher Loyola Teacher Partner
Time Away Ivy Janes
I lay on my back
In the damp, scratchy grass
And tilt my head to the sky
Stars scatter every which way
In a beautiful tapestry
Of now and past light
And I’d grown so accustomed
To the emptiness of city nights
I almost couldn’t believe my eyes
When I return home
To my city’s same uncaring streets
The arrogance of its bustling flow
I can’t help but wonder
If part of its cruelties can be blamed
On how, without stars above them
It’s far too easy
For the city’s people to forget
Just how small they truly are
Avery Potter
Heart
The hollow of my heart expands every second, It twitches and yearns, For a place beyond and unknown.
It follows only a trail of feelings, All smudges and blurs, Only to be led back to where it began. Hungry surges rush along its path, Moving through the blood With a purpose to find.
Soon, the void will corrupt the vessels around, And swallow the rest of the body, Turning the once solid form into pure desire, All to touch the warmth of a home that never was.
Yellow Tiles Robin
We're barely eighteen and sitting on your kitchen floor.
Right next to the stove where a little beacon of sun falls from the locked window.
My mouth's full of wine and sadness. I'm laughing my ribs out
We just came back from a night out and failed at not waking up your father. He sits on a chair and looks down knowingly. You never shut up.
I love you, even if you're not over your break up yet.
We just came back from our oldest friend's birthday and I couldn't refuse you. The fridge is keeping us upright.
I'm starting to lose faith you'll find us a midnight snack.
Please don't let go of my hand.
We just came back from our first week of high school.
Everyone is a nickname and I'm falling off my chair at you.
We need to stop hiding our cigarettes under the kitchen sink.
Let's wait just a little longer to make sure it's safe.
We just came back from a Christmas party. You looked ridiculous as Rudolf even without the horns.
Sneezing in our hot cocoa we still take the floor. I still want to borrow your pajamas.
We just took a break from our English homework. You swear you know how to make caramel for our ice cream.
I'm glad your mom was sleeping. Your laugh is blinding.
We just came back from tennis practice. It's been two weeks, the prize on the fridge is still as bright. You say you'll keep it there till I win too.
I stop washing the dishes just to sprinkle you.
We just came back from playing in the park Keep putting pressure on your knee.
I'll stick my elbow underwater. You should cry over your bike.
We'll hide here for now.
We're barely six and sitting on your kitchen floor.
Right next to the stove where your mom is making pancakes, where a little beacon of sun falls from the unfixed window.
My mouth is filled with crooked teeth. I'm laughing my ribs out.
I love you and your chipped tiles.
Under the Willow Trees
Claire Kroening
Beneath weaving boughs, the world feels far away. Burdens lift and worries start to sway where we are from today. The air is filled with echoes of the past, of ancient dreams and memories held from long past. Their leaves cascade like distant summer rain, a soft caress for every pain. Beneath their shade, the world stands idle, a fleeting peace of tranquility. The roots dig into the earth so deep, are tales of strength and solace, theirs to keep. And as the sun slowly dips low beyond horizon meadows, the willow bends in reverence to every waking existence.
Broken Switch Amaya
I keep looking for a home a place that's still unknown
Leaving all my worries at the doorstep washing off my embarrassment in the sink wiping my insecurities from the mirror putting my regrets to sleep
Preserving my sweet memories in the freezer storing my love in endless jars watering my plants with hope switching on my dreams
I keep searching for its location but my journey ends in frustration and I'm stuck in a room with a broken switch
Unfinished Exit Claudia Wysocky
I keep thinking about the time in high school when you drew me a map of the city, I still have it somewhere. It was so easy to get lost in a place where all the trees look the same.
And now every time I see a missing person's poster stapled to a pole, all I can think is that could have been me. Missing, disappeared.
But there are no posters for people who just never came back from vacation, from college, from life. You haven't killed yourself because you'd have to commit to a single exit.
What you wouldn't give to be your cousin Catherine, who you watched twice in one weekend get strangled nude in a bathtub onstage by the actor who once filled your mouth with quarters at your mother's funeral. The curtains closed and opened again. We applauded until our hands were sore.
But you couldn't shake the image of her lifeless body, the way she hung there like a marionette with cut strings. And now every time you try to write a poem, it feels like a eulogy. A desperate attempt to capture something that's already gone. But maybe that's why we keep writing, keep searching for the right words, because in this world where everything is temporary, poetry is our only chance at immortality. So even though you haven't found the perfect ending yet, you keep writing. For Catherine, for yourself, for all the lost souls who never got their own missing person's poster. Because as long as there are words on a page, there is still hope for an unfinished exit to find its proper ending.
Goodbye’s So Lonely, Empty Forever
Paridhi Jain
A goodbye that was to be expected but were hearts to be broken?
In my soul I feel sadness. The singing birds' voices quieted. In an empty vacuum I wander, Searching for a purpose, for an answer. My transient feet pull me back, As my brain goes on to embrace fates’ plan. But my destiny is rigid, just as stubborn as my feet, Down the road they don’t wish to go, Back up my hopes, my desires ache to chase What they think is left still undone.
In front of you I will be
But my mind will scramble away
Leaving my omnipresent body in a dust of confusion
As gravity pulls my feet underneath I reminisce about those days now gone by. Those smiles in my heart embedded, A lasting mark engraved.
The laughter, my ringtone, I should shut it, not really,
Just one more play simultaneously. My eyes sparkle with recollection of those treats, The darkness of my destiny replaced with lanterns of joy.
I look up at the stars with a faded smile and my floating soul wonders, “Will goodbyes so lonely haunt me forever?”
The waves of the flushed sea rise at night, Frightening my bottled up fluttering emotions. Peace during the day fighting gloominess at night. In times so silent, In times so barren, My mind drifts to one question, Is it truly goodbyes that will lead to my demise ? Or will they draw out the strings of balance, And fly me in the mist of my journey?
The Atlas Domain WHEREABOUTS