Letter from the Editor-in-Chief
Dearest readers,
I am pleased to announce the launch of our Fall/Winter 2025 Issue at Waymark! Our team was able to read dozens of wonderful works by other undergraduate students, and we are so proud to showcase our final line up of publications. I also couldn’t be more proud thinking about how far the magazine has come and the journey taken to get to this point.
The making of this semester’s issue came with many new milestones for the magazine as we continue to reach new heights. Not only does this issue mark my first semester as editor-in-chief of Waymark. This semester, we have received the most submissions we have ever received in a single semester since our magazine’s revival in 2023. And while other lit mags respond to submissions with a simple yes or no, our staff choose to provide feedback because we want to help foster and make better writers, not just better writing. We are also excited to have expanded our reach for visual art publications this semester in our effort to not only be a marker for creative writing, but for creativity in general. Waymark seeks to showcase and amplify all student voices through any medium of creativity, and publishing visual art was our next step to following that ambition.
With the magazine still growing, we have also seen our staff double in size with new members who share our passion for fostering undergraduate creativity. Thank you to our amazing and diligent staff members and genre readers for all your hard work in reading submissions and continuing our mission to amplify undergraduate voices in the writing community. Thank you to our genre editors— Kelsey (Fiction), Zeena (Nonfiction), Judymarie (Poetry), and Sammy (Art)— who have all been pillars in keeping the magazine alive and thriving. Also, a big thank you to our growing Waymarketing department, who have taken Waymark to new heights on our social platforms.
It has been a pleasure to review all of our submissions this semester. We hope you enjoy reading these works as much as we did!
Kind regards,
Gabrielle Punzalan
Editor-in-Chief of Waymark
Masthead for Fall/Winter 2025
Gabrielle Punzalan — Editor-in-Chief & President
Zeena Yassin — Vice President & Nonfiction Editor
Kelsey Fletcher — Fiction Editor
Judymarie Gaps — Poetry Editor & Poetry Reviewer
Samuel “Sammy” Dyson Giles — Senior Art Editor
Kiana Givens — Marketing Coordinator
Ivy Breinig, Shreyon Rajesh, & Ryne Garrett — Poetry Readers
Jalyn Lankford — Nonfiction Reader
Lilli Qualtiere, Mikayla Paradas, Jessica Henry, Des Van Holten, & Bhagwati Narwate — Fiction Readers
Aniyah Lewis & Aimy Vavuguese — Art Editors
Nata Tombari — Nonfiction Reviewer
Jennifer Huynh, Amanda Gonzalez, MJ Watts, & Kennedy Foster — Graphic Designers & Social Media Managers
Monique Mclaren — Podcast Technician
Fiction
“The Anchorage Summit” by P.M. Alexander
It’s not like I had to walk. I could’ve called a community tram to pick me up. Or I could’ve biked, since I bike now, and the weather’s been unseasonably fantastic these past few days. But sometimes, you just know you have to feel the ground beneath your feet, some…
“Sunflowers for Keisha” by Bailey Peters
The dry grass and loose roots dug into my thighs as I sat in the heart of my garden. It was on the cusp of fall again, and the sparrows were singing their last songs before they fluffed their feathers and flew to warmer destinations. The branches where their round…
“Blue Paper-Thin Wings” by Isabela Rezende
The butterfly perched atop my finger, stretching its blue, paper-thin wings. For a moment, I thought of curling my fingers over its body, trapping it in my palm. But like a golden star shooting across the sky, like a bout of stomach-churning laughter, or a fated first kiss—nothing lasts forever.…
“Order Number 12,023” by Sophia Krohn
Dear Mrs. and Mr. Johnson, Congratulations, you are the next in line to be recipients of an Adler Doll! We are so thankful for your patience over the past five years. Upon our first meeting, we were heartbroken to learn your story; it is certainly one that is all too…
“Hand Sculpted; Fangs and All” by Emily Rakestraw
Her voice didn’t register — not at first. It took two polite “excuse me’s,” the forceful removal of a double-pronged cough from her throat, and a much harsher call out before the sculptor — Ms. Robin Beaumont — forced her gaze away from the loosely face-like lump of clay between…
Creative Nonfiction
“The Test and the Bet” by Amanda Izzo
The classroom held a quiet stillness around me as my eyes stayed fixated on the clock, watching each slow, shaking tick and circular rotation of the second arm. Time in the stuffy portable classes felt like an endless revolving door.…
“Shifting Gears” by Amanda Izzo
I sat on the side of the highway feeling more hopeless than I had in a long time. The cars that flew past me shook my entire truck and sense of self. This was not only my first vehicle; it…
“Between Mama and Me” by Lashanda Baker
The smell of fried chicken drifted throughout the apartment as commercial ads broke up the hip-hop station’s music during the five-o clock rush hour playlist was done. I made sure the kitchen was clean and fixed dinner plates for my…
“There Is Always Next Time” by Emily McKinnon
Whenever I thought of flash bulb memories I always thought of a fifties style camera. You know the ones with the large conical light that popped and crackled with every image captured. That camera has always been synonymous in my…
Poetry
“More Glass Than Fish” by Mouse Moseley
There is glass enough in the oceanThat it hurts to swimTo skim my toes and solesAcross the bottom orThe silted submergence orThe sand that sticks and stays The ragged edges open me likeThe shell of a summer watermelonThick outside and…
“To Nick Holonyak Jr, Father of the LED light” by Mouse Moseley
Did you dream of a bright bright new worldalight with a clean white glow withinthe darkness you were born into?1928 was not an easy year,right before the recession and Hoovervilles. Were you mad with fever in 1961as the Berlin Wall…
“Of Ash and Tide” by Amelia Kennedy
Like tide to Lady Luna’s aria,Like ash to skybound breath,Beneath a gaze that unspools the cosmos,I surrender. I am dragged beneath the swell of the world,Strangled in its quicksilver current.Silence here blooms heavy as iron,Heavy as steel as it settles…
“When You Recognize a Stranger” by Arben Alovic
There’s a certain heaviness when the face of someone you once knew is now that of a stranger. Do you reach out and say hello, like you once did, before the space grew between you two? What are the new rules of engagement when every move feels…
“Portrait” by Morgan Gibby
Describe yourself. You are a girl. You are a boy. You are an orange that turned chalk green. You are named after the ocean. You are afraid of drowning in it. As you describe yourself, talk about your interests and…
“Oath” by Morgan Gibby
And when I’m touched(if I’m touched…)tenderI sense a loss that is beyond what I can fathom It’s a feeling so distinct from that which devours my instinct (an instinct innate to my evil) My father molded me from bone to sacred bone(The…
“How nice of you to ask” by Morgan Gibby
What do you want to call it—proof of great resilience? Certainly not. A pitiful habit carried young and quiet?No—There are hundreds of ways to dress old wounds in quartz and flowers but reality is still grotesquely ordinary. I did it because I wanted to.These…
“The Letter” by Allison Croft
I. I was old enough to braid my own hair,But young enough to see beauty in features I’d someday hate.The cold counter held my elbowsAs I dared cross belongings and bounds.My things had been slowly creeping from the right side,Making…
“Bugs” by Mattie Frascella
In a backyard, messed and wild,Nature’s chaos is compiled.Soggy grass beneath my seat,A realm forlorn, where soft I meet. The trees, once trimly, now stand tall,Boughs reach out, an untamed sprawl.Tangled, snarled, a silent plea,To let the wild in me…
“Never Again Begins” by Mattie Frascella
Whispered liesAre louder than you think.An octopusIs more easily eatenIn small bites. Do you believeThat ordinary peopleAre capableOf hatredandUnfathomableatrocities? Do you see it?Do you hear it?Can you feel it?Will you know itIf you do?Or, will you turnand walkaway?Can you say?…
“Goodbye, Mr. Wonderful” by Mattie Frascella
Honestly, it’s not like he was drop-dead gorgeous.He was average.Okay, slightly better than average.He was adequate.Taller than most, but in the worst possible way.Alright, fine.He was beautiful. The hunch only made him appear loftier.His clothes were just a bit too…
“Fastest Fashion” by Jay Hesser
Who in the world has the fastest fashion? Those who don’t think of outfits for today, But what will be worn for lunch or dinner. To wear something that will, in time, decay. I like to think of Italians with their Black shirts and…
“I’m Scared My Boss Knows I’m a Lizard” by Wrendolyn Klotzko
Admittedly, it is because I am getting worse at hiding it.He watches molted skin fall from under my shirt’s cuffsand notices my eyes look a bit yellow in some light. He thinks he saw my darting tongue smelling the airwhen…
“Sunday January Jams” by Wrendolyn Klotzko
The music melts deadbolt ice. Half-frozen hermits drink beer and eat ham sitting on folding chairs and couches held up by 2X4s. Orange extension cords are streamers decorating the rafters with bottle cap snakes, year-round Christmas lights, and five foosball…
“Why I am Not Left-Handed” by Wrendolyn Klotzko
I was meant to be left-handed,but when my pencil danced from side to side across my page,through my fingers, between my palms, you failed to see what I knew was true,and took my tiny fingers and guided them into compliance—into…
“I Live in Such a World” by Amber Haliday
I live in such a world Where fear and joy break and rebuild me simultaneously, Where healing and pain intertwine, choke, and breathe into each other harmoniously. I think a lot of people mistake this happening with chaos or confusion …
“Don’t You Love It When It Rains” by Amber Haliday
Don’t you love it when it rains Watching the subtle buildup of water until a droplet forms The sound of rain gently hitting the puddles below The pitter-patter of rain on a window The unrhythmic, yet peaceful sounds of rain…
“A Conscious Night” by Amber Haliday
In late hours like these, Late enough to be early morning I wonder why I lie awake Perhaps my device is the issue Though, the absence of it doesn’t do much either My body aches for rest My eyes, beckoning…
“Sophie” by Emily McKinnon
I was not yet four months when we first met,But it did not take long for you and I to become a we. I am your loyal friend, a wonderful petWe would set out on many adventures together, what glee. You…
“Pink and Blue” by Emily McKinnon
Girls are supposed to like the color pink, you seeThat is what they tell us when we are very youngBut as for me, I painted my room blue. We are supposed to be dainty and properNever to speak out of…
Visual Art
“Cul-De-Sac Girls” by Mary Mathews
Digital artwork.
“Shocked Sawfish” by Nicole Karesh
Wire sculpture.
“The Red String” by Kiera Fisher
Mixed media with recycled magazine scraps.
“The Blue Girl” by Kiera Fisher
Colored pencil and marker on paper.
“Do You Ever Want To Fly Away?” by Kiera Fisher
Acrylic paint on tar paper.
“A Decisive Moment” by Allison Cannon
Photograph in black & white, 945 x 1245
“Golden Harpy Owl” by Allison Cannon
Colored pencil and ink on 8×8 paper.
“Half Way There” by Alyssanna Katie Dominguez
Charcoal on paper.
Book Reviews
The Man Who Would Be (Dr.) King: A Review of “King: A Life” by Jonathan Eig
By: Nata Tombari, Nonfiction Reviewer Jonathan Eig’s Pulitzer-Prize winning biography of the civil rights icon, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is a moving, visceral, and humanizing portrait of the man whose fierce advocacy, rousing oratory, and unrelenting pursuit of equality for Black people made him one of the most hated people in…
Healing Poison Through Poetry: A Review of “Pretty Boys Are Poisonous” by Megan Fox
By: Judymarie Gaps, Poetry Reviewer Celebrity poetry has become a common way for society’s “deep” artists to bare their souls to an audience of active and avid readers. Well-known socialites such as Lana Del Rey, Lili Reinhart, and Gabbie Hanna have all thrown their hat in the ring of literary opinion, some…
A Review of “Wrong Norma” by Anne Carson: Elitism or Whimsy?
By: Judymarie Gaps, Poetry Reviewer What is poetry? Is it a grouping of stylized words? Stanzas of rhymes? Maybe it is up to the eyes of the beholder. For Anne Carson, poetry is whatever she wants it to be. Long, sprawling paragraphs or repetitive phrases are all poetry, according to her. But…
Halloween 2-Sentence Horror Story Contest Winners
In collaboration with the KSU Writing Center, Waymark co-hosted a 2-Sentence Horror Story Contest for KSU students to celebrate the spooooky season! Waymark is proud to present the winners of the contest in our Fall/Winter ’25 Issue!
Featuring the works of Liz Tillman, Serene Nguyen, and Frederick Drayton.
Waymark: Unbound Season 2 (Podcast)
Waymark: Unbound is back with new hosts and new topics! Join us for Season 2 where we continue to talk about all things literary, all things bookish, and all things in between. Unbound is created, edited, and hosted by undergraduate students at Kennesaw State University.
Check out Season 2 (Episodes 1-3) on Spotify and Apple Podcasts