Other Side Run Dry

Starienne LoMonaco ‘24

This piece was from my time in Joshua Tree National Park. In contrary to the humidity of the Florida I am used to, the Cholla Cactus Garden is a perfect representation of the dryness of California. Florida and California share similarities, weather and climate wise, but this photo captures the significant difference of feeling between the two.

Dirt-Stained Grin

A gardener, hunched low, knees plunged in soil, locked in surrender to the sun, engaged in an all-out brawl with those weeds - Mama Earth's unruly offspring. Eyes squinted, hands blistered, lips wet with sweat and smeared with dirt, twisted into a grin.

Insects swarmed the scene - a relentless gang: biting, stinging, and pricking - yet he made no move to shoo them away. As the sun dipped, signaling the end of his day's toil, his joints were singing the blues, and he lurched homeward, each step a nauseous ordeal, yet his lips still clung to a smile.

Nico Nasse ‘24