Kaleidoscope 2021
About the Cover “Waiting to Dance” is a 16 X 20-inch oil on canvas created by Alorha Baga in 2020.
About Kaleidoscope An annual publication, Kaleidoscope was first published in 1998. Students in the ENG 025 Creative Writing class are responsible for many phases of creating the magazine. Kaleidoscope is funded by the college and supported by James L. Preston, Vice President of Educational Services; Debbie Rose, Curriculum Systems Manager; and the Arts & Letters Faculty. The writers and artists are members of the student body, faculty, and staff of West Hills College Lemoore. Throughout the year, David Brooks (davidbrooks@whccd.edu) and Kristen Kennedy (kristenkennedy@whccd.edu) accept the art submissions, and Neomi Daniels (neomidaniels@whccd.edu) accepts the written submissions.
Curated By ENG 025 Creative Writing Class Editorial Board David Brooks, Neomi Daniels, Marty Ennes, Libra Howard, and Kristen Kennedy Layout and Design All Valley Printing
All rights revert back to the authors and artists upon publication. Each written work, drawing, photograph, or graphic creation remains the copyrighted property of its creator.
2021
Blossom by Alorha Baga
Kindred Spirits by Elizabeth Hines
Contents Prose and Poetry In the Driveway by Richard Miller ................2 red chrysanthemums by Jacob Reina .............3 Until You by Amelia Lewis ............................5 Recipe #666:Deviled Gays by Wren Wilson ........................................7 My Love is Light by Amelia Lewis ................9
One-Point Perspective (Disneyland) by Viviana Quezada-Ramirez ..................8 Chadwick Boseman-Hero in Person by Jesus Soto .........................................10 My Jewel by Sabrina Aguirre ......................10 Typhoon I (Atmospheric Perspective)
a spring day ending by Jacob Reina ............12
by Darius Loera .....................................11
A Declaration of Love by Jay Oliveira ........13
Roses in Spring by Elizabeth Hines ............14
Dark Ends by Maleina Harvey ....................16
Megan Fox by Elizabeth Hines ...................15
Loving You Broke Me
Total Embrace by Mubarak Ndoley.............17
by Amelia Lewis.....................................20
Need Name by Joseph Doty ........................18
Bystander by Wren Wilson ..........................21
The Experimental by Joseph Doty ..............18
These Heels by Marisa Tipton .....................23
No matter what we still have each other
Learning How to Pray by Tyree Reed ........................................25
by Maria Cisneros .................................19 Sun by Alorha Baga .....................................22 Kyoto Pan by Joseph Doty ..........................22
Illustrations Waiting to Dance by Alorha Baga ........................Cover Page Blossom by Alorha Baga ...............................II Kindred Spirits by Elizabeth Hines .............III Golden Sunrays by Jesus Soto ........................1 Typhoon II (One-Point Perspective)
Typhoon III (Two-Point Perspective) by Darius Loera .....................................24 A Rainy Day in Yatsushiro by Joseph Doty ......................................25 Star Wars Tribute-Rey by Viviana Quezada-Ramirez ................26 Star Wars Tribute-Padizzabeth
by Darius Loera .......................................3
by Elizabeth Hines ................................26
Crystal Rivers by Elizabeth Hines .................4
Frank Rocha by Ethan Rocha .....................27
Eternal Blacksmith by Maria Cisneros ..........5
Three-Point Perspective (Disneyland)
Muse by Maria Cisneros .................................6 Two-Point Perspective (Disneyland) by Viviana Quezada-Ramirez ..................7
by Viviana Quezada-Ramirez ................28 Panda Break by Jesus Soto .........................31
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Golden Sunrays by Jesus Soto
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In the Driveway by Richard Miller A long time ago, my dad asked me to look at the stars. He pointed to a star right above our house and said, “Son, can you see that star? That star wasn’t there until the night your brother died. That’s your brother looking down on us.” That was the first time I remember him trying to line up the stars. Since the ‘80s, my dad had projects. The projects were vast and many like: a gold mine he wanted to mine, a fire suppression system he wanted to sell to the landowner, or a computer program he made with a doctor friend to pass information to the pharmacist because doctors usually have bad writing. In his mind, it was going to make him somebody, and we would be financially secure. As a child, I was elated thinking of the life I would have, the things I would have, and the places I would see. Project by project, something always got in the way. The mine was salted, the water tank on the fire suppression system was too heavy with all the water for the axle, and the doctor cut him out of the deal. My dad’s dreams haven’t stopped. Due to his misfortune in business, his now ex-wife made him seek advice from a psychiatrist to see if he suffered from delusions of grandeur. To me, his stories are credible even today. He is on his phone and tells me he is talking to investors and the CEOs of major companies. He shows me groundbreaking batteries he acquired that will power cell towers. In my mind, that doesn’t make him somebody, but he always had and continues to have worth to me. His stories of becoming rich never stopped. But my time waiting for money to be happy ended in the ‘90s. A long time ago, my dad asked me to look at the stars. It is something I will never forget. Not because of the wonder of what was out there. It was for the appreciation from the stars of what is here... A boy and his dad in the driveway.
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red chrysanthemums by Jacob Reina he scales alongside an old tainted railway bridge tracing the shadow of a phantom being who overlooked a ravine and a shallow stream then from the steel ledge splattered all her dreams and now a white cross with a garland of oak beads rests upon these grounds with flowers for memories
Typhoon II (One-Point Perspective) by Darius Loera
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Crystal Rivers by Elizabeth Hines
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Until You by Amelia Lewis I never knew what people really meant when they said that someone's arms could feel like home... Until You I never knew what peace was to be found in the presence of someone who truly quiets your mind... Until You I never knew what it felt like to really be able to. just. breathe... Until You I never knew the endless capacity of my heart to care for another... Until You I never knew what it felt like to live without fear and anxiety... Until You I never knew what a cheap imitation of happiness I had been settling for... Until You I never knew the joy and laughter someone could bring to my heart... Until You I never knew what it meant to feel truly safe and trust another... Until You I never knew all the things I held inside of me, all the things I could become... Until You And I thank God each morning that I wake... For You
Eternal Blacksmith by Maria Cisneros
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Muse by Maria Cisneros
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Recipe #666: Deviled Gays by Wren Wilson 1. Place a dozen bad eggs in a pot of conditional love, bring to a boil, and leave to sit for eighteen years 2. Strain and dunk them in a bowl of icy homophobic remarks, then use threat of disownment to crack the hardened shells, and peel to reveal their soft interiors 3. Cut them to the core and carefully remove the sense of self from each, place them in a bowl and mash them down with gay conversion therapy 4. Add bigoted beliefs, misquoted Bible verses, social hypocrisy, outdated heteronormativity, and scientific inaccuracies before mixing well 5. Spoon mixture back inside the empty shells, and sprinkle each with a pinch of self-loathing 6. Place on an offering plate and serve to God, chilled.
Two-Point Perspective (Disneyland) by Viviana Quezada-Ramirez
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One-Point Perspective (Disneyland) by Viviana Quezada-Ramirez
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My Love is Light by Amelia Lewis I wish there was a way to make you feel my love For it to wrap around you and warm you like the sun on a summer day A day at the lake Your body chilled by the water It creates a shiver as that cool air glides across your skin The world is harsh and cold like that It causes our flesh to ripple It tears at our hearts, like thorned branches tear at our skin Lie down in the sand a while and let my love envelop you like sunshine Let it dry away the droplets of water dotting your skin Let it lull you to sleep under its afternoon rays Feel safe within my warm embrace I want to light your path like the moonlight on the darkest of nights When the demons haunt you When you are lost When you can't sleep Run fast and free through the woods, knowing my light will guide you Let loose the animal you cage during the day I have no fear of him for we are both creatures of the night Howl loudly to my light, blanketing the sky, and see that I will always answer your call I wish there was a way to make you see my love It shines in the day It glows in the night It is constant and it knows no end.
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Chadwick Boseman-Hero in Person by Jesus Soto
My Jewel by Sabrina Aguirre
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Typhoon I (Atmospheric Perspective) by Darius Loera
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a spring day ending by Jacob Reina standing here alone on the bank of a canal thoughts of you arrive with the coming breeze blowing in the branches of blooming almond trees and the buzzing swarms of a thousand bumble bees and standing here now with the waking stars up high thoughts of you will stay until the nesting birds fly
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A Declaration of Love by Jay Oliveira The human soul is a beautiful thing, something so unique and lovely. It is made up of a culmination of experiences and feelings. Your soul is warm, tinted with the reds, oranges, and yellows of autumn. You are a rainy day spent curled up in a bay window with a warm cup of tea and a well-loved book, the kind with a creased spine and pages that are worn. You are a pile of cozy blankets. You are soft sweaters and old movies. You are sleepy kisses and fireside conversations. You are old records and whispered confessions under the stars. Home has always been a feeling for me, and nothing feels righter than sitting in your arms. You turn me into a well of emotions. You say my name and I light up; you call me yours and I am full of butterflies. When you grab my hand, I am aflame with admiration. Your laugh is so wonderful, it brightens a whole room and makes my heart melt like butter. You are sweeter than honey and you are filled with passion. I want to lay in your arms and wake each morning next to you. I want to place gentle kisses on your forehead and run my fingers through your hair. I want to laugh so hard that I'm in tears because you've done something silly. You are very clever, ever quick when it comes to thinking on your feet. You are charming, knowing exactly what to say to make me weak in the knees. You make me feel safe, comfortable. I want to stay by your side until the end of time. You are always on my mind, and I break into the softest smiles knowing that you love me as much as I love you. I desire to get so lost in you. I want to see the light in your eyes and get dizzy from your kisses. I want to get so tangled up in your embrace that I can no longer tell what is me and what is you.
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The world is so much brighter, full of light and music and laughter now that I have found you. Each gentle kiss fills me with electricity, and it makes me so happy to be alive, so glad that I get to exist here in this universe at the same time as you. You make my heart flutter when you lean your head against my shoulder, and I want the feeling to last forever. I dream of the day when I can hold your face gently in my hand and tell you I love you before I pull you in for a kiss, and we spend eternity holding each other close. You are so special to me; you make me feel so loved, and I know I can be myself around you. No amount of words in any human language will be enough to convey the amount of love I have for you, so I can only pray that my actions will be enough. I hope with every kiss, you will be able to feel how much I love you. I hope with every hug, you'll be able to tell that I never want to go. I hope that every time we lace our fingers together, you can tell that it is exactly where I long to be, right next to you. I adore you with every ounce of my being and I look forward to every single day with you. My darling sweetheart, there is no one else I would rather love.
Roses in Spring by Elizabeth Hines
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Megan Fox by Elizabeth Hines
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Dark Ends by Maleina Harvey I could be your biggest accomplishment, I could be your biggest dream I could be the source of pain that your eyes deceive I could love you one day Maybe I could just leave Because seeing you like that right there made me cause a scene. I am hard to love It's written in my seams Little things that you can't see Because deep down I'm redeemed Little as a child, I had no company All to my lonesome, I could barely breathe Living since that day it's really hard to believe Mostly because the pain he caused, it killed me slowly. Marking all the food so we really had nothing to eat I cried myself to sleep every night, ooh he was so mean. No doubt I'm going to see his face again and tears will probably burst in eye. But I will always remember what my momma told me “Baby Don't Let Him See You Cry” Power is what he held Power to my soul A remote to all my feelings I really had no control He tortured me He made me think about life right before death crying every night Like I had not a single person left. But I am alive, believe it or not. Soul is dead to the world I got a lot of humor but not to fill this post This is about dark ends Darkness is where it leads I'm stronger than I was I can finally breathe Yes, it's pretty scary to read what I just wrote But deep inside I hurt, But writing this for all to see, It really was a cure.
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Total Embrace by Mubarak Ndoley
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Need Name by Joseph Doty
The Experimental by Joseph Doty
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No matter what we still have each other by Maria Cisneros
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Loving You Broke Me by Amelia Lewis Loving you broke me...leaving you put me back together again. How do you thank someone for breaking your heart and forever changing your life path? I don't think there is a card for that. “Thanks for burning down my world. I rebuilt it into something far more breathtaking than it was before…Love always, your princess” I feared that the fire that lived inside both of us would burn us to the ground one day. Funny how it ended up destroying everything around us...everything between us...and yet, there we both still stood. Your clothes lightly dusted in ash. Meanwhile my body was still up in flames. One of us had to be sacrificed in order for the other to make it out alive. It's taken time, but I finally forgive you. Now if I could only forgive myself.
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Bystander by Wren Wilson They say that being a sexual assault survivor means that you can never leave the scene of the crime. The caution tape is torn down from the doorway The police perimeter to keep everyone out is gone The dust used for fingerprints is wiped clean The bags for evidence are taken out with the trash The case is closed and filed away with the records But his presence still remains. I see him in my American Government textbook Hear him in the laugh soundtrack on the sitcom Friends Taste him in cheap fruit-flavored vodka Smell him in raindrops on sidewalk hedge leaves And feel him with my back pressed up against the wall. I drive my car to work every day and remember the feeling of sitting as a passenger on the left side of the car as we drove down the Japanese highway to the closest military hospital able to perform sexual assault forensic exams. I report to my retired chief supervisor at work and remember all the chiefs who gave up on me while I was still serving too broken to be of use anymore their energy and efforts better spent on a sailor who still had a future. I give my corporate boss my doctor's note and remember the years I spent fighting to receive the four-letter diagnosis the Navy prohibited my therapists from assigning but the VA gave out like a participation trophy labeled “#1 Military Sexual Trauma Survivor”. I laugh when a coworker feigns surprise that I'm back and remember how it felt to sleep for fifteen hours the night prior while I dreamt of chasing my assailant round and round the room begging for his attention as if I hadn't just spent the last five years a living memorial to both of our military careers.
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Sun by Alorha Baga
Kyoto Pan by Joseph Doty
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These Heels by Marisa Tipton I have nowhere to be I have no one to see She is out like a light And she was mostly a delight I am typing this now With a furrowed brow Wearing these heels Loneliness giving me chills I was once driven and mad With goals and dreams to be had Now I am on my own Pretending to be wanted and catching a whiff of his cologne Knowing full and well I was only under his spell Recognizing my self worth Like a whole new me is ready to be birthed These heels have been stagnant The owner consistently absent Unable to show confidence Especially not in abundance But here I am today No matter what, I’ll be okay Because I am a survivor No longer under fire Able to breathe No longer able to deceive My own worth and being Ready to start believing In the me That is meant to be The future life To continue without strife Feeling truly alone No longer a Queen on her throne The want for survival A constant internal uprisal
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Typhoon III (Two-Point Perspective) by Darius Loera
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Learning How to Pray by Tyree Reed As I, a little boy, went to bed every night, My mother taught me how to pray. She told me to pray when I got up every morning. When I started reading the Bible, The Bible taught me how to pray in a certain way. I learned how to pray this special prayer, Only by trusting in the living God. I learned to have faith and believe in God When I lifted up my hands to pray. I know that when I prayed This helped me build up my relationship with God.
A Rainy Day in Yatsushiro by Joseph Doty
Praying gives me strength, motivates me, and sets me free. Praying helps me to forgive people. Praying fills me with his Holy Spirit So that I can treat other people right. I know that when I pray and praise God in the Highest, Blessings come flowing down like a river.
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Star Wars Tribute-Padizzabeth by Elizabeth Hines
Star Wars Tribute-Rey by Viviana Quezada-Ramirez
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Frank Rocha by Ethan Rocha
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Three-Point Perspective (Disneyland) by Viviana Quezada-Ramirez
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Biographies Sabrina Aguirre lives in Corcoran, California and is currently attending West Hills College Lemoore for a Studio Arts degree. She is also pursuing a career as a tattoo artist and building her art portfolio.
Elizabeth Hines is from Lemoore, California. She focuses her studies on visual arts and history. Apart from drawing, painting, and some photography, she writes and is skilled in archery.
Alorha Baga resides on the Santa Rosa Rancheria. She has been creating art since childhood. Her focus is contemporary Native art and nature. She is scheduled to graduate in spring of 2021 with an AA in Studio Art.
Amelia Lewis is a four-time RONE book award judge and book blogger who beta reads for self-publishing authors. She loves nothing more than a rainy day, a cup of tea, and a good book.
Maria Cisneros is an aspiring character designer and animation artist from Hanford, California. She is currently studying for a degree in Studio Art. She loves to create and illustrate fan art from shows or video games. In addition, she creates characters and stories about them. Maria's inspiration comes from myths, legends, and the world around her. Joseph Doty is a former participant of the JFT program, where he taught in Yatsushiro, Japan. He currently lives with two dogs who inspire much of his work during social distancing. Maleina Harvey is from Danville, Illinois but now lives in Hanford. She has a 3-month-old daughter who resembles her more and more every day. She enjoys spending quality time with her family, journaling, and watching 911 Lonestar.
Darius Loera is an art major at West Hills College in Lemoore, California. His work is influenced by Japanese culture and architecture, specifically the Edo period and Hokusai books. His series depicts villagers running for refuge from an impending typhoon symbolized by the objects (i.e., papers) being blown away in the wind. Darius hopes to create conversation through culture, style, and media choice. Richard Miller Jr. was born in 1984 in the small town of Hanford, California. He is an advocate for children and is currently working on a career and life path to serve both his little family of three and their community. Other joys in his life, besides writing, are cooking, working on cars, and spending as much time as he can with loved ones. Mubarak Ndoley is a student at West Hills College in Lemoore, California. This artwork was focused on the theme of identity and was created for his final art appreciation project.
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Biographies Jay Oliveira is a nonbinary author and artist from Hanford, California. Their method of writing is focused on feelings more so than the story itself while the two are often connected. Their work reflects their innermost intimate feelings, an invitation to their thought process. Writing for them is a release and helps for a better understanding of their emotions for both the reader and for themselves. Viviana Quezada-Ramirez lives in Hanford, California. She enjoys watching international movies and reading romance and young adult novels. Viviana is striving to become an art teacher and hopes to have her art displayed in many art galleries. She spends most of her time drawing portraits of her favorite idols, actors, and anime characters. Tyree Reed was born in Compton, California. He and his mother moved to Hanford when he was very young. He stayed for many years during his childhood life, and Hanford is where he resided and grew up. Now, Tyree lives in Lemoore with his mother, sister, niece, and nephew, and he has been living in Lemoore for four years in a residential neighborhood. Tyree's sister, niece, and nephew have a black Yorkie that is a little over a year old. The black beautiful Yorkie is the most precious thing in the house, which is a huge blessing to everyone.
Jacob Reina is a reading tutor living in Fresno. He has two children, one cat, and one dog. Ethan Rocha was born in Salinas, California. He loves video games, art, and music. This work was created in tribute and respect to his grandfather. Jesus Soto is from Corcoran, California. He expresses his creativity and worldview through art. Personal interests include animation, Anime, and Manga. He wants to become an animator for Pixar. Marisa Tipton is from Texas and will soon be moving back from Visalia where she lives now. She is a veteran and a single mom of two. Wren Wilson is originally from the American South and was stationed in the Central Valley while serving.
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Panda Break by Jesus Soto
Kaleidoscope 2021 ENG 025 Creative Writing Students Samuel Avina Viviana Brenes Nicholas Dibble Yelsie Gomez Gregory Gonzales Jr. Lori Ann Hull Dakota K. Macedo Melvin Nalls Tyree C. Reed Jacob Reina Kailee Tagle