Summer
““It is still summer, but the summer is no longer alive. It has come to a standstill; nothing withers, and fall is not ready to begin. There are no stars yet, just darkness.”
— Tove Jansson, The Summer Book
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by Siri Atluri ’24
Freedom is hardest to attain when it is longed for yet simultaneously, oh so fear-inducing.
when those wings of yours ever persistent in their delicate beauty are too easily swayed by the wind? Perhaps you are named a monarch
the safety of the warm season is death’s door waiting just around your corner.
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Nocturne Prairie Acrylic
Jagged by Ishaan Sekhon ’24
Adark storm eclipsed the starlight and brought deafening thunder. A red-haired man stood out in the pitch-black darkness, resting gently by the swaying trees. His clothes were tattered, drenched, and enveloped in manure.
Eric clutched a bloodied and tattered scrap in his right hand, which barely resembled a human. The memory had belonged to his sister.
He carried a jagged dagger in his other hand, which he had subconsciously used to carve images of knights and monsters on a tree.
Eric whistled while he strolled toward a nearby tavern, which was louder than the roaring thunder. He slammed the door open, causing several splinters to smack him in the face, but he was still unnoticed.
At the center of the bar were two bulky men, both clad in armor, who bellowed at unheard jokes. Eric’s eyes gleamed with hunger and excitement. found Sir Sebastian and Sir Gustav. He strutted towards them, laughing
he slapped Sir Gustav across the back, then rested a hand on his shoulder. “Let “Huh?”
Suddenly Eric slammed his arm into the man’s mouth, knocking him to the ground. Gustav shrieked as an explosion of blood and teeth rippled across his face. My mistake,” Eric said. “I confused his mustache for a caterpillar.”
Before Sebastian could rise to his feet, Eric leaped towards him, but the knight threw the table towards him. Eric quickly dodged the table, but the knight tackled him and threw him to the ground.
“Was that your entire plan?” he asked, strangling Eric.
Eric jerked his head away from Sebastian. “Oh god. Please get away from me. Your breath is awful.” Sebastian punched him. “Who are you?” -
tred. “Justice,” he breathed faintly. Eric spat on the knight a second time, then stabbed his neck with his dagger, then twisted it. Sebastian’s anger turned to shock, then to horror. He opened his mouth, then blood splattered onto Eric’s body.
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The tavern was silent as Eric shoved
his feet. Rivers of blood descended from his face to his chest. He grinned devil-
had also risen to his feet with a sword in his hand.
Gustav screamed at him, then swung at Eric. Eric dodged the blow, then lunged at the knight. He thrust at the knight’s shoulder, but his dagger bounced harmlessly. He swung for Gustav’s face, but he slid back.
The only way a knife can beat a sword is if I get in close, Eric thought, but the knight was also heavily armored. A silver blur
as Gustav stepped forward. Eric moved right, but Gustav anticipated that.
Eric grunted in pain as Gustav slashed his chest. Eric stumbled back, then crashed into a chair. Eric groaned as he searched for his dagger. It was nowhere near him. Eric saw a blurry Gustav charge toward him.
Mary, Eric thought. He saw his sister waving to him on a grassy plain and his sister’s body in the village slums. A single punch had nearly shattered her skull.bered his sister’s body. He roared as he forced himself to stand. He quickly
charging at him, his dagger was gone, silverware lay around the room, and he was close to the
“Gustav, when did you lose your honor? What part of the knight code allows you to kill little girls because they didn’t call you ‘Sir?’
Is your pride truly that fragile? Or are you simply a scumbag? Who decided that your pride was above justice? Was it your gold? Your armor? Your glory? What gave you the right to abandon your honor?”
Gustav glanced around the room full of onlookers. “Shut up! You have no right to question me. You killed Sebastian.”
“Sir Sebastian,” Eric
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said. “If you say otherwise, he’ll kill you.”
Gustav screamed at him. “Shut up!”
“Her name was Mary!”
“SHUT UP!”
Gustav burst towards him. He swung wide, but stumbled over the debris in the tavern. He missed Eric, who leaped
towards him.
“Her name was Mary,” Eric whispered in his ear, while holding a knife to Gustav’s neck, then he cut his throat.
The tavern erupted with screams as Eric walked out while whistling the tune of the song he had always sung to Mary. A ballad of a heroic knight coming to rescue her from a monster.
Gray Forest Acrylic
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Falling Graphite
Wounded by Jordyn LaPlaca ’25
What more is there to say? You wounded my heart.
That one day I won’t feel as if I have been ripped apart. A shredded soul.
But you are hard as coal. You take all my tears in stride. No man or woman did this to me. None would be capable of such. But I never once thought it would be The world itself that would hurt me this much. One day humanity will burn. And in my grave I am sure I will not turn.
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Ripe Andrew Klieger ’25 Acrylic
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Solstice
Three-dimensional artwork of The Glass Knife
Untitled Mixed Media
the glass knife Peacock Pin Siri Atluri ’24 Sterling Silver
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glass
Brynne Barnard-Bahn ’23 Multimedia
Roundabout Greenery
by Samhita Kumar ’23 Embroidery
I’m Falling
I’ve Got A Feeling
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Brynne Barnard-Bahn ’23
Acrylic
Splanky
Brynne Barnard-Bahn ’23
Acrylic
Branches
Minh Dang ’23
Acrylic
Apricity
by Anika Nadgauda ’26
Apricity (n)
- The feeling of the sun’s warmth in the winter
A shield from the cruel cold-hearted world
A misguiding feeling that leads to betrayal
For no matter what the heart yearns for
The sun will always set.
The next morning it rises again Yet again covering me with her fondness
the winter gets
The less time the sun stays up
Apricity (n)
- The false feeling of security hiding betrayal
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The Way You Look At Me
You look at me; it’s always been the way you look at me.
Drowning, sinking, slipping further and further with each passing second. And the way in which you say those three simple words is unexplainable.
Peace and safety. Love. I still don’t understand what that word means. I could look into your eyes forever.
It’s silent—and silent seconds pass and I never want it to end.
I’m scarcely aware of my own breath, but I can hear yours.
I want you to breathe into me. Into me, breathe into me.
I want to hear you say it again. Whisper it into my ear and I’ll be yours.
I am yours.
I try to say it back—say it back like you do.
I want it to sound like I believe too, but it comes out wrong. Maybe I’m the one that’s scared of love.
It’s always wrong and my stomach coils up with guilt. I don’t deserve you—I don’t deserve your innocent love.
say you will. Love me until I learn. Let me learn to love as you do.
I look back into your eyes, entranced, and I stay. I stay.
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Indecisive by Lauren Lu ’24
in my dreams, the sorceress pays me a visit, swathed in cool mist and black robes. although she is silent, her object is explicit,
as i tremble in awe and in fear at the magic i sense near beside this beacon in the murk,
what will you do? how will you act? beyond where she stands lay my options, the goddess Hecate looms over me, i am at a crossroads.
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New-Old Year
Should I wish for a winged dove, That midnight surely brought.
All the hopes we hope don’t die. An old year’s dream, awake anew,
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Stella I . ’25 Photography
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Hare Natalie Park ’23
Marker
