Archived: Still At sea by Eliza Bratt

Floating on a sea of empty feeling Broken words, Falsified promises, It’s hard to hold this An arabesque of confidence And keep aboard my boat of utter apathy This quantum entanglement is of dread and destiny As idiosyncrasy plagues and weighs upon my soul I stare, the world a moving set of contradictions Ephemerality is…

Archived: Acrobat by Taliana Schmidt

He swings High. So high. His suit is tight, But he does not mind. The freedom of swinging, It undermines That uncomfortable uniform That he wears all the time. Biography: I’ve always been drawn to the arts. I find that creating art is a good outlet and way to connect with other people. Art can bring…

Archived: Ichorous Hamartia by Eliza Bratt

Who taught Icarus to run from home? To run to golden arms of unsettling perfection? To hold tight to something so beyond reach it would be his undoing? Did he know? That each second spent would slowly steal the color from his hair? That each kiss would leave a darkened sun-mark on his sand-pale skin?…

Archived: Cinder-Elliott by Amanda Schlicter

Long ago in a land far away, A boy named Cinder-Elliot did play. He was happy and free ’til that sad day came When his mother died and step-father placed blame. Years passed and Elliot toiled His step-brothers poked fun, his happy plans foiled. One day a change came by, When a royal messenger did…

Archived: Christmas Caps by Brooke Pippin

My father emphasized traditions and Christmas was no exception Always, button up shirts and glasses of eggnog around the dinner table Regardless of heavy and  humid Decembers in Alabama But none was heavier than when his seat was left bare   My mother bought the biggest tree, it scraped the ceiling And never had I…

Archived: Drying Out by Kyle Thoutt

During the pandemic, when everything had shut down and the world seemed to be at a standstill, Steven decided to make one of the most important decisions in his life. It started out innocently enough during the weekends as a teenager; it’s hard to say when it really started to be a problem, maybe it…

Archived: Poem of Love by Harley Robar

when I think of the crazy things that life hath given us so far, I think of how far we have come how far we can go. stop looking back dear look into my eyes and see the future I see see your glory in my eyes you are not any more than you need…

Archived: The Balance

Author: Phillip Lara Email: plara1@aims.edu Submission: Please see “Add Media” for attached file.

Archived: The Moon Who Craves The Night by Phillip Lara

  Biography: My name is Phillip Lara, and I usually go by Phil. I am currently pursuing a video production degree at Aims in hopes of working with film as a career. I have always loved being in the mountains since I can remember. It wasn’t until I was inspired by a friend who took photos…

Archived: Light The Way by Phillip Lara

  Biography: My name is Phillip Lara, and I usually go by Phil. I am currently pursuing a video production degree at Aims in hopes of working with film as a career. I have always loved being in the mountains since I can remember. It wasn’t until I was inspired by a friend who took photos…

Archived: Queen of Crows by Mackenzie Wolfe

  Biography: Mackenzie Wolfe is a twenty-four-year-old digital artist living in Greeley, Colorado with 7 years of experience in digital painting. Growing up in a small mid-western town, Mackenzie found a love for art when she received her first tablet at the age of twelve, setting the stage for her artistic journey. With few opportunities…

Archived: Western Wrangling by Daren Ford

  Biography: Hi, I’m Daren Ford, a photographer based out of Northern Colorado, living life on the front range and blessed to be so near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. After spending as much of my free time as possible deep in the mountains chasing trophy elk, I started to slow down and observe the…

Archived: Evening Glow by Phillip Lara

  Biography: My name is Phillip Lara, and I usually go by Phil. I am currently pursuing a video production degree at Aims in hopes of working with film as a career. I have always loved being in the mountains since I can remember. It wasn’t until I was inspired by a friend who took…

Archived: Astoria-Megler Bridge by Emma Young

  Biography: Making art has allowed me to express myself in ways words can’t. I think that’s one of the biggest reasons why I create. All of my artwork is based on my emotions while I’m creating. Even though some of my artwork isn’t from the happiest of times, I enjoy looking back and seeing…

Archived: Movement of Water by Laney Gabriel

  Biography: Hello! My family has been part of Aims for soon to be more than 15 years and I grew up on campus in my mother’s office. I enjoy the student-friendly environment and community care provided by Aims. I have achieved two associates here at Aims and I will continue to study Astrobiology in…

Archived: Cold Crisp Morning by Daren Ford

  Biography: Hi, I’m Daren Ford, a photographer based out of Northern Colorado, living life on the front range and blessed to be so near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. After spending as much of my free time as possible deep in the mountains chasing trophy elk, I started to slow down and observe…

Archived: Moonrise by Daren Ford

  Biography: Hi, I’m Daren Ford, a photographer based out of Northern Colorado, living life on the front range and blessed to be so near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. After spending as much of my free time as possible deep in the mountains chasing trophy elk, I started to slow down and observe…

Archived: Wish of a Lifetime by Lili Luo

Everyone has wishes. They can be big or small, selfish or selfless, known by all or known by one. Some wish on the stars and planets while others wish on candles while still others wish on angel numbers.  Mykala is no different. A girl whose dreams range from inconsequential things to the unreachable. At five,…

Archived: School by Jayla M Oswald

I could feel the heat radiating from her skin; bright rosy cheeks and wide green eyes stared back at me. I could feel the words she sang in her head through the air. I could feel her hands twist into mine, and though my face felt as hot and red as hers, I wasn’t nervous,…

Archived: Into the Neon Light by Austin LeLievre

A desolate stream of water and neon ripples away when the step of a white shoe exits the Aeromag. The shoe then pulls a young man in azure pants dressed with a silver belt paired with a scarlet shirt that has just an embroidered smiley face up on the chest. The man takes a deep…

Archived: The Oasis by Nick Luna

The scotch burned my lips, then proceeded to walk its fires through my mouth and down my throat. The electric lights remained darkened like the dark recesses of the space beyond the moon. Candle light flickered and danced across the pages of this diary. It is a rushed affair, I understand, as I pen these…

Archived: Faux Art by Dominic Plascencia

The clinking of a champagne glass filled a minimalist room with little to no color except eggshell white for all the furniture. From the 70s deco chair full of ovals to the thin legged chairs surrounding a white marble table, it gave the essence of ‘filthy rich’. It was a marvelous square room, with hardwood…

Archived: The Rainbow by Cindy Jewkes

“You’re needed in Mr. Serino’s office right away,” came a slightly pinched voice through George’s office phone. George gulped. What had he done this time? He didn’t care much for his job anymore, but he still didn’t particularly want to lose it. He knocked on his boss’s broad oak door and heard a muffled “Come…

Archived: Beneath the Surface by Megan Prumbach

How do you mark the change in a man? How do you know when, exactly, he decides to throw aside everything he has known and live a life of tyranny? Is it one single, definitive moment or rather the culmination of wrongs that make a villain? I never considered myself a villain. I suppose every…

Archived: Warrior of the Dead by Natalia Fuentes

I had a normal life up until recently; my life even seemed dull and ordinary to whoever knew me. Of course, this all changed very drastically, but I feel I’m getting quite ahead of myself. I should probably introduce myself first. My name is Gloria Ramirez, and I’m nineteen years old. I am a warrior…

Archived: Lost Gear by Rogelio Gaona

My head feels disoriented, and my eyes open as they start to focus on my surroundings. Above me, I locate a dim lamp that faintly illuminates the dark room. The wall is made with all sorts of gears and mechanical parts and the floor feels metallic, each tile with its own square pattern and bronze…

Archived: Cards on the Subway by Everett Lewark

Jefferies Station was huge—lots of tracks ran through the station, and trains were constantly coming and going. The tiled white roof hung in a series of arches above us like an Olympic swimming pool for bats. Standing there in this huge room crowded with grown-ups, I felt tiny. Their words echoed off the walls—almost louder…

Archived: Skin Deep by Lili Luo

Pounds and pounds of makeup were applied daily to every inch of Cassidy’s skin. She wished that her skin was similar to everyone else, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it. She had dealt with it for her entire life, hiding her discoloration since she could remember.  The heavy weight of the makeup…

Archived: EnderRakst by Riley McGee

At the beginning of time there were Seven Aldstes. These Seven Fathers, as we now call them, were sent by the Gods to our world which was then called EnderRakst or The Unity. Struggling to survive, the fathers quickly banded together to survive the harsh winter. But the whirling storms had nearly brought the Seven…

Archived: The Collision of the Era: Beginnings by Angel Bautista

Chapter 1 “On Board” “Where am I?” asks a fair lady with golden locks that strung down as she sat up from the bed that she was not familiar with. Her ocean-blue eyes look at the bed and looked at the blanket that held many patterns. Before she could question the quilt, a gruff and…

Archived: Last Man Standing by Riley McGee

Chapter 1: Awakening I look around and see a bunch of trees. I get myself off the dirt ground. I begin to randomly walk around hoping to figure out what I am doing here, where I am, or anything really. As I try to remember one thing I begin to realize how little I remember….

Archived: Sufficient by Ashley Sigala

My name is Kara and I just recently graduated from college. If I were to be honest, I thought I’d have never finished. My parents always wanted the best for me, while I wanted to move to LA and start my acting career. I know that I had to make my parents proud and that…

Archived: Noah by Kadie Jones

I was never one to believe in fairytales. I was never one to believe in happily ever after’s or fairy godmothers that would solve all of my problems. Not until I met him. I was 16 years old, and at that time, my father was in the Confederate army. I grew up in a home…

Archived: The Place by Anna Johnson

I quietly got out of my Chevy pickup truck. Stepping down into the dirt with my sandals and lower layers of my dress swarming in a cloud of dirt, I didn’t care and started to wander.  I wandered along the dirt path quietly, following the twists and turns. I consistently looked up to see if…

Archived: Dear Grandpa by Promise Laino

Joaquin I was born and raised in the beautiful country of Spain in the small town of Alba de Yeltes. I had 4 siblings, two sisters and two brothers, and only my mother after my dad sadly passed away from cancer when I was 14. I had always been a hard worker, spending my days…

Archived: Youth by Megan Prumbach

The cold fall is settling outside, and the semester is coming to an end. What consumes most of my days now are essays and piles of school books that wall me into an inescapable room. It’s all boring and dreary, a mirror of the changing seasons outside. My thoughts now are swamped by finals and…

Archived: Charlie by Trisha Nelson

**TRIGGER WARNING: Gun Violence Charlie sat on his little bed by the front window that Elsie made for him. That was his favorite spot in the whole apartment. He could people watch; some would even stop to talk to him. He would watch the squirrels and the birds. It was great. There was so much…

Archived: Bobby by Dennis Taylor

I was a college freshman, Eastern Illinois University, on a full athletic scholarship. Free meals, free tuition, good roommate. Clai Dungy was a track star. Life is good! Brother Bobby (Robert Dale Taylor) was 10 years old and I was his hero. I took him everywhere. We went to football games, wrestling, baseball. We got…

Archived: Ernie by Promise Laino

Scene I [The lights are dimmed. Ernie’s mother (mama), sits slouched in a chair in her son’s hospital room sipping coffee. Ernie has just confessed to his mother that he had consumed yet another moldy poptart, but he was doing better now and they were preparing to go home. His mother wears a concerned expression…

Archived: Nature in Chaos (assorted haiku) by Everett Lewark

Cattails reeds stick up circling a pond the air smells of ash Bloom cherry blossoms lie on cement sneezes echo Fort a dog plays in snow mounds nestled on an SD card Salsify hands tremble down the moonlit hill seeds float in wind Old Tree in the cool of night tree branches worn to stumps…

Archived: The Flood

  The Flood By Cindy Jewkes The window fills with muddy wet so fast, we can’t make a gain. We’re fish in an aquarium during the sudden summer rain. My feet go on a polar plunge, bullets of ice on skin leave pain. Must guide the flood away from home during the sudden summer rain….

Archived: Autumn Evening by Phillip Lara

  Biography:  My name is Phillip Lara, and I usually go by Phil. I am currently pursuing a video production degree at Aims in hopes of working with film as a career. I have always loved being in the mountains since I can remember. It wasn’t until I was inspired by a friend who took…

Archived: The craziest person I ever knew… by Cherise Gerrish

The craziest person I ever knew… packed his meager necessities, closed the door behind him, walked away from joy, drove beyond grief, pitched a tent beside chili peppers, bathed in the sunshine and a rain barrel, drank beer with the widowers, laughed with the children, painted his name on the desert sky, until his freed…

Archived: Little Yellow Flowers by Charlie Nelson

My mother and I used to walk in the meadow often. The little yellow dandelions seemed to whisper sweet messages in my ear. That was back when mother wasn’t sick. The last time we visited the meadow was October 3, 2002. The day before mom’s diagnosis. She had a tumor pushing against her lung, causing…

Archived: Go to waste by Carlos Santana

  never knew how to let a bottle go to waste I love the feeling hate the taste I did it till I loved what I hate I did it till I loved what I hate Feeling like I’m too far gone it’s like the moon I’m on Can’t Breathe with these holes left from…

Archived: Cinder-Elliott by Amanda Schlichter

Long ago in a land far away, A boy named Cinder-Elliot did play. He was happy and free ’til that sad day came When his mother died and step-father placed blame. Years passed and Elliot toiled His step-brothers poked fun, his happy plans foiled. One day a change came by, When a royal messenger did…

Archived: December by Reina Bautista

  a cold night in december of 2000 beeping of monitors and the chatter of nurses fill the room eyes begin to open, seeing new life this was it at 9:35pm we meet for the very first time the day our adventure had begun celebrating birthdays together almost like twins sort of being only a…