[saint michael protect me] by REY COOPER i smell him on the night sky. he smells like a new face mask straight from the warm plastic, hot oil, a burning stove, the gym mat. he smells like skin and the air right after it rains. he smells like the dark alleyway you never want to…
A Summer Fire by HANK ODELL Five summers ago, the hottest on record, a horse kicked over a lantern in the barn and lit a stack of dry wood. That fire climbed up the walls and into the rafters faster than you could count to five, and by the time the sun was falling…
Orpheus in Bordertown by NATALIE HAMPTON Orpheus was named for Greek mythology. Classic tale: hero rewarded in love, maiden suffers for his stumbles. No ailment for him, save a grated-over heart, but heroes remarry and recover by dawn. Orpheus liquified words for his parents’ mouths in translation to their native tongue. They swallowed some and…
Marine biologist shows girls ocean mud. by LILA MANKAD The marine biologist pulls a bucket full of seafloor black mud from the side of the boat. She picks through it and hands us creatures- spindly crustaceans, worms like veins through the mud, krill only visible if you raise them to the sunlight. She says feel…
Fever Streets by Cayenne Souknary The fever came at night. A baby’s shrill cry breaks through the quiet of the dark and shortly after her cry ends comes the tortured scream of her mother. This was only the beginning. Everyday, new bodies would be laid out on the streets. At first it was the…
April Wang is currently a junior at Houston’s Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. She is a hobbyist illustrator, sculptor, and writer whose work focuses on the human condition, exploring the subconscious experiences which underlie the present. Her work has been featured…
Three Floor Townhouse, For Sale Now! by Luka Neal Three Floor Townhouse, For Sale Now! This house is 2400 square feet with three floors. In total, it includes three bedrooms, four bathrooms, a dining room, a living room, and the faint silhouettes of memories engraved in its walls. Starting price is much more than…
As a young artist growing up in Houston, it is a dream come true for Lela “Rosie” Burruto to now be in the Visual Art Department at Kinder HSPVA. Drawing, their favorite form of self-expression, gives them great peace when things get chaotic and offers a way to escape from the harsh realities of…
Moments Before the Afterlife by DANA COMBATE She carried a bouquet of daffodils under her arm She invited you to stay And you laid with her, at peace, Under the shade of a million leaves You sat next to her on the tainted white bed Her skin thin like white paper sheets She asked…
Katie Martinez is a junior in the visual arts department at Kinder HSPVA. Her art style takes notes from American comic books and Japanese manga artists like Hirohiko Araki and Suehiro Maruo. Her art aesthetic holds inspiration from film, haute couture, and modern anime. Her artwork has been featured…
Costume Design, Mia El-Yafi The two designs for the play Agamemnon are of the character Clymnestra, a loving wife who murders her husband. At the beginning of the play, she is reserved and amicable, represented by the chains on her first costume and the black veil that obscures her true emotions. When she murders her…
Burnt Help by MEGHANA JOHN If it were up to me, food wouldn’t exist. I would absorb energy through my skin and dehydrate the trees, but I don’t always get what I want, so instead, I’m learning how to cook. I hate it so far. The kitchen is big, and I am just one. I’m…
Tangerine by PEARL REAGLER When I was a child, you were thirty And ate a tangerine while looking into my eyes Your lips moved over the skin and Your tongue caressed the bitter folds and Your teeth scraped at the tender flesh inside As you raised a brow at me The sea of…
The Match is Getting Shorter by AVALON HOGANS I mourned my own life three times last Summer. I think I’m being followed. My shadow is stuck to the concrete like tar. My feet freeze with the fear of a thousand male black widows. I hate crying in front of people, but my tears…
liminal cities by ISOBEL PEREZ orange squares of light hive the skyline and i’m just a pair of eyes, peeking through my blinds wondering if the sky is flavored with the same salt and rust that the city sweats. currently, i occupy a venn diagram of space: a small corner of my window where a…
Melody Daniels is a sophomore in the Visual Arts Department at Kinder HSPVA. She is happy to showcase her art in Octopus Ink.