Murre seabirds lay their eggs on open rock ledges, rendered vulnerable without the sanctuary of rugged nests. Chicks are born with the instinct to dive; within a month, they venture from their hatching grounds to test the surrounding waters. Although they can barely fly, the fledglings leap from cliffs that tower thousands of feet above sea level, inexperienced wings carrying them airborne for the first time. These first attempts do not bring them all the way out to the ocean, but they persist and continue toward their destination. This audacity guides their transformation into fully fledged adults who migrate long miles south in the winter.
People tend to remain entrenched in their own caution, yet the journey ahead is often forged by challenging the past and reaching into the unknown. We may find ourselves risking failure in order to move forward, but by reassessing our values we can learn to avoid complacence.
Audeamus, Latin for “let us dare,” expresses our hope that your existence not remain stagnant, but instead transcend the limits of comfortable reality. We invite you to live vicariously: crossing an infinite highway to embrace a loved one. Reconciling after years of mute resentment. Defying the impulse to rush mindlessly forward.
This issue, let us inspire you to test new waters.
—the Editors, Winter 2011
Table of Contents
Poetry
Emily Su: Aphelion
Disha Banik: Aufeis
Ashley Wu: dig deeper
Kevin Chang: On the Precipice of Illness
Kimberly Tan: Opalescence
Prose
Darya Charkashyna: Besides, I Had a Pre-Calc Test Coming Up
Claire Li: Conflagration
Emily Liu: Indian Summer
Vivian Chan: May She Love Tomorrow
Jessica Kim: Penumbra
Marian Park: Stars and Astra
Helen Jun: Sydney
Christine Wang: Tightly Shut Windows
Jenny Liu: Wordless Comfort