odhwp

  • A Chain of Thoughts I Had upon Seeing a Red Cooler

    Mikayla Johnson In the morning, my family visits the reservoir. The reservoir has one public beach placed at the bottom of a staircase on the northeast side with a parking lot. The parking lot hosts a standalone car when we pull in. When we pull in, my husband and I lather our two children in…

  • These I Have Loved

    Mercy Thomas Fact #1 There are seven stages of grief (West). 1. Shock 2. Denial 3. Anger 4. Bargaining 5. Depression 6. Testing 7. Acceptance August 2016 My grandmother was diagnosed in 2016 with cancer for the fourth time. My parents had just come home from their anniversary trip in Hawaii when the phone rang…

  • Sweet Tea Elegy

    Olivia Flynn It’s October and we’re bored. I’m at my friend’s house, and she suggests a game. That’s how I find myself blindfolded on a stool in the kitchen while she rummages through the fridge for something to feed me. There’s sinister potential here—wilted lettuce and Worcestershire sauce, mustard, milk, something expired. I hope my…

  • Death of Spring

    Ariana Feichko It had been a nice April morning. The type of morning one would spend taking a walk or going to the park with a gaggle of children. Flowers bloomed and pollen danced in the soft air. The sun trickled in through the six large windows below the high-rise ceiling of my family’s living…

  • Forks That Bend

    Samuel Charles At this point, I know plastic forks a little too well. I know the sizes, designs, and how much they try to imitate real metal silverware. I often have salads for lunch with my dad, a college professor, and we know all the best places on campus to get forks. We also know…

  • On Feet Keeping

    Sarah Safsten I’ve been wondering about feet keeping ever since I first sang the hymn “Lead, Kindly Light” in church, and in the twenty years since. The part I’m wondering about goes like this: Lead, kindly light, amid th’encircling gloom; Lead thou me on! The night is dark, and I am far from home; Lead…