Page 7 - Horizon 18 Online

HORIZON
A Journal Based on Painting of King Louis XIII of France
“Pose.. five more minutes you must!” The frantic man said while he stroked his paintbrush frantically. His brow wept with agony in this intense heat. I am worse off than this fellow! I am adorned in a puffy, white ring that is cutting off my breathing with tights that are riding up in places they should not. I have been here for what feels like ages, though it has only been 3 hours. Being king is more than what I expected. Why must we pose for silly paintings? This is
all trivial. Not to mention after panting like a pig for hours, I have coronation tomorrow with silly adults who order me around. As king, I will put an end to disasters as such. I wish to run my servants around and behead that brute William, by golly is he an animal! He pokes fun at my outfits, though he does not know he is talking to a king. I wish to see the look on his face while my guards carry him away.
“All finished my lord.” Frans Pourbus says to me.
“At last. Now I can go do something important.” I step past the poor painter, oh what a lost soul. Thank God I am the king and not a commoner as such.
Ashley Hanna ’18
A Stinky Vacation
For vacation this year Ruth and her family thought it would be a great idea to take a trip to Hawaii. While packing they all talked about how fun and tropical this trip will be. Ruth’s family each packed some snacks for the plane ride: pretzels, granola bars, and Ruth specifically brought a hard boiled egg for herself. She loved them. The family was getting ready to board the plane when Ruth realized her egg was missing! She was so upset she couldn’t find it to enjoy it on long flight. She asked the flight attendant for some red wine to drown her sorrows about her long lost egg. When they got to the hotel with all their luggage they noticed a familiar but rotten smell. While searching high and low around the hotel for the cause of the disgusting smell Ruth gave up on looking and went to unpack her luggage. She was elbows deep in her suitcase when she was greeted by a rotten hard boiled egg squished between her clothes.
Sara Zietlow ’18
Above
From the frothy sky above, I look down on the symmetrical plains of packed earth. Everything appeared cracked, dry, and on the verge of collapsing in the brutal winds. Fragile, dead leaves and barren shrubbery highlighted the arid landscape in a perfect complement. It’s a good thing that I live among the clouds now; free to look on those horrors that once plagued me; I smile to myself and fall back into the comforting embrace of the damp tufts sailing through the sky. I’m free to lounge my days away as the people – still grounded – toil to make lifeless earth produce some means of hope, some means of survival. Soon enough, though, all will rise to the clouds. When they reach their most desperate times the sky will cushion their fall.
Val Jarvis ’18
An Interview With a Star
I am bright, and I am blue.
I wonder if there’s more I could be, more I could do.
I hear your memories and joy: every what, when, and who. I see the raining stars and morning dew.
I want to capture the light from you.
I am bright, and I am blue.
I pretend to be a famous gallery, though my masterpieces few.
I feel what you feel, but can not do what you do.
I touch the frozen stars and the melting oceans too.
I worry my light won’t go beyond my dark divider, won’t be seen by more than you. I cry when people are treated like excess, like life has lost value.
I am bright, and I am blue.
I understand the world is dynamic while I remain a static statue.
I say that every day is new.
I dream of a brighter world fueled by some dramatic breakthrough. I try to explain it all, my efforts true.
I hope the world is better for what I try to do.
I am bright, and I am blue.
Amelia Melcher ’18
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