LitMag15

VOL 2 ORINDA INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL LITERARY MAGAZINE 2015

PAUSE

PAUSE Isabella Nordstedt

ORINDA INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL LITERARY MAGAZINE 2015 VOLUME 2

80 IVY DRIVE, ORINDA, CALIFORNIA 94563

2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1... Isabella Nordstedt
4... Suah Oh
6... Emma Dodd, Anonymous
8... Taylor Johnson, Suah Oh, Amber Davis
10... Alex Meckes
12... Chantal Hummel, Aimee Gee
14... Nick Bohm, Anonymous
16... Veronica Huish
18... Isabella Nordstedt, Anika Shandalov
20... Sarah Stenovec
22... Lydia Jung, Bryn Severson
24... Cassidy Haskell, Lauren Nixon
26... Dara Kazmierowski, Suah Oh
28... Masina Mayo, Taylor Johnson
30... Jenny Shen

Suah Oh

4



6

Emma Dodd RaNdOm
Anonymous
Flying rats,
boots and cats,
tripping on mats,
stepping on gnats.
RaNdOm is OK.

Writing with lead,
crazy bedhead,
wearing one ked,

missing the dead.
RaNdOm is OK.

Humming in the mic,
walking on my bike,
eating pizza with Ike,
skipping on my hike.

RaNdOm is OK.

Taylor Johnson

8

Suah Oh

Amber Davis

Alex Meckes

10

Chantal Hummel

12

Aimee Gee

Nick Bohm

14

An Unlikely Dream

Anonymous

I recently saw you in a dream,
And as strange as it may seem,
I turned around and there you were,
And it was strange that it did occur,
But what you did isn’t in your style,
Because as soon as you saw me you gave a smile,
And for some reason it gives me a scare,
Because for a while we kept a strong stare,
And now I wonder what it would mean,
If it was the same as my dream,
That when I turn around, you’ll be there,
And when our smiles are shared,
That it won’t be pressure or a dare,
When we can look into each other’s eyes,
For many minutes before another thought can arise,
Many call it the heart of love,
Yet for me it is something to hold above,
All the things that make real love true,
There is something I can confide in you,
That even I myself do not know,
And like a sprout has room to grow,
But the sprout may be too old,
Perhaps you’ve lowered the temperature and made it cold,
Though when the spring day comes,
When the pain numbs,
I will still be there for you,
There’s nothing else I’d rather do



16

Veronica Huish

Isabella Nordstedt

18

Serenity

Anika Shandalov

Through the cold sand I wade
With my bare feet and frosted toes

The sun rises upon the sky
The morning mist glides across my

cheeks

The water reaches the tips of my
toes

And I shiver,
Praying that I won’t catch a cold

Despite the beautiful sky
That lights up my body

And the sun that brushes my face

My heart is warmed by the glisten of
the sun- kissed ocean

So I lay down on the sparkling sand
And lay my head to rest:

Before the beauty is overrun with
kids and adults

For now; it is just me and the beach



20

Sarah Stenovec

Natalya’s Dance By: Lydia Jung

“Dance.” “Dance.”
I shake my head. I shake my head.

I don’t dance. I don’t dance.
Not in front of strangers. Not in front of strangers.
Not with music I’ve never heard before Not with music I’ve never heard before
The accordions squeeze in rhythmic harmony The accordions squeeze in rhythmic harmony
violins wail in alien melodies violins wail in alien melodies

boots stamp, boots stamp,
tambourines clash tambourines clash
weaving into one song, weaving into one song,
flying through the air flying through the air
piercing the listeners’ hearts piercing the listeners’ hearts
with a strange sensation. with a strange sensation.
At once, the strange music fills me with At once, the strange music fills me with
love, loss, and joy love, loss, and joy
in the same moment in the same moment
transporting me transporting me
to a distant world to a distant world
of corn fields and wooden huts of corn fields and wooden huts
and peasants marching home from a long day’s and peasants marching home from a long day’s

work work
a world alien to me yet part of me. a world alien to me yet part of me.

“Natalya Ilynichna,” “Natalya Ilynichna,”
my uncle whispers my uncle whispers

“Dance.” “Dance.”
I shake my head again I shake my head again

and close my eyes and close my eyes
shivering under my shawl shivering under my shawl
which can never cover the goosebumps which can never cover the goosebumps

that I feel that I feel
listening to the music of my supposed home- listening to the music of my supposed home-

land.* land.*
Alien to my ears Alien to my ears
alien to my memory alien to my memory
but not to my heart but not to my heart

22

where the accordions silence within me
where no one dares to strum a lute. even when I never knew it.

Waves of silence fill the room, *In Natalya’s era, most aristocratic Russians
so that all I hear are my own stomps were educated in a “European” manner,
with the lone violin weeping the final knowing little of their heritage
**balalaikas, a traditional Russian folk in-
strains of melody strument
which fade far away.

Soft.
Softer.
Silent.
I stop my tracks mid-turn
to acknowledge the quiet
How did I dance this way?
I ask.
The only answer could be
that the eternal land of my ancestors live

Bryn Severson

Cassidy Haskell

24

The Eye Cannot See Without Light

Lauren Nixon

Afraid
Scared to open up

Share your life
Speak your crazy, beautiful mind

Lift the curtain
to the stage

that holds your soul
Illuminate the darkness

The eye cannot see
without light

Dara Kazmierowski

26

Suah Oh

Masina Mayo

28

Taylor Johnson