Pikes Peak Community College
Loneliness and isolation have been widespread for people all over our city this year. My life has drastically been affected as have so many. The expectations of school and home life suddenly blended into uncertainty and tiresome months of a …
by Dana Zimbleman In late October, I sat down with PPCC Math and English Dean and retired Army Colonel Joseph Southcott, who discussed his military service and why he carries 16 names with him every single day. DZ: The first …
by Angelo DeCecco with contributions from Paul DeCecco All families share stories which are intriguing, perhaps true but always alluring, about their shared past. One family story that intrigued me as a boy was of my two grandfathers who were …
It took years to dislodge the hatesearing my brain and every limb,like a tree burning in a firestorm.I’m charred but still standing,waiting for the rains of spring. ☼☼☼
The night I met Airman Leonard Reh was his last on earth. He died 25 years ago this fall. His death is tragic and the basis for some of my own struggles still to this day. I was a brand …
Staring at the old photos that I had, until recently not known had existed, I felt as if I was taken back 70 years. For the first time ever, history felt relevant to me, and the mystery of my family’s …
Military Sexual Trauma they say, or simply “MST”An acronym for ease or one really just to hide the dis-ease? When it happened to me there were no acronymsand certainly not much awareness I went into the military in the era …
#IAmVanessaGuillen covered social media for months following the disappearance and brutal death of Vanessa Guillen, an SPC in the U.S. Army stationed at Fort Hood, TX. Using this hashtag, many active-duty service members and veterans have come forward to share …
Emotionally bereft, I focus on the technical aspects of traveling into Kuwait City, Kuwait, with several civilian-clothed soldiers on a contract bus driven by a Third Country National who doesn’t know the area well, either. The marketplace or the Souk …
“Well,” there is always that long awkward pause, “that’s just the life you chose.” When I hear this statement, I often want to follow up with a guttural yell. In the last four years with my husband, who is in …
Haikus of Finding Lostlost in a forestfor the last 5 hoursmeditations with treeswomen exhale smoke in Spainstep over glass on Irish streetsWhere do I fly next?reading Lorde alonein the black night silencelaundry spins in the machine188 days backpacking2 more remainlover …
Shannon Palmer is a surrealist painter and designer who lives and works in Pueblo, Colorado. Her colorful works incorporate strong symbology and surreal landscapes to encourage to viewer to question their own perception and contemplate life and death. Her distinctive …
This is a call for all artists, illustrators, designers, and photographers in the Colorado Springs or Denver areas. Do you want to see your art published on our website? Then we encourage you to submit your visual artwork. Sharing your …
Michele Battiste is the author of Waiting for the Wreck to Burn (Trio House, 2019), Uprising ( Black Lawrence, 2014), and Ink for an Odd Cartography ( Black Lawrence, 2009). She is also the author of several chapbooks, including Left: Letters to Strangers (Grey Book, 2014). Her …
Family Totem by Salome Carrasco, PPCC student This body of work is inspired by my love of birds and curiosity about my Amerindian ancestry. Being removed from the language and traditions of my ancestors brings me deep sadness and feelings …
About: Parley is Pikes Peak Community College’s literary and arts journal. We feature academic and creative works from the PPCC student body and the Colorado Springs and Denver communities, publishing online and in-print. We are still accepting submissions to be …
“Listen to me,” she whispered, spinning sphereof seas. “We want healing too” (a revelation).Pines meditating, breathing bombs long gone;she, too, could be rooted, accept rain gutteringin veins, metabolize as a Viper’s bowstring,our chlorophyll equally evolved. Why, in Western philosophies,are levels …
Would you like to work on the next issue of Parley? The upcoming Spring 2021 semester has class offerings for different degree paths so you can work on this real-world project! You can also contact Sarah McMahon at parley@ppcc.edu for …
“We Band of (Civilian) Sisters” by Dana Zimbleman In March, I had the privilege of attending the Association of Writing Programs and Professionals (AWP) conference in San Antonio, Texas, with several of my English faculty colleagues. Unfortunately, many events were …