Comics

Corporate Mango by Jon Diotalevi

Haiku Challenge by Allison Reitz

Electric Boogaloo by Drew Summer

Trunkwood by Drew Summer

Incredible Edibles by Jon Diotalevi

Sudoku

Sudoku is made up of a 9 x 9 playing field with numbers from 1 to 9 scattered throughout. The object of the game is to fill every column, row and 3 x 3 box with the numbers 1 through 9, without repeating any numbers in any given column, row or box.

The difficulty level of the puzzles will change from week to week. Some will be easy. Some will be moderate. Some will make you want to cry. It’s gonna be a grab bag, so hang on.

If you get stuck, the answers can be found here, but don’t give in unless you absolutely cannot do it! What fun is finishing it if you had to cheat?

Horoscopes

ARIES
March 21 – April 19
Some people seem to have all the luck and this week, that person is you! Difficulties seem to be clearing up for you this week. Stay alert and you will find that everywhere you turn, everything is coming up roses.

TAURUS
April 20 – May 20
A certain financial situation may have you down in the dumps. Try not to worry about it too much. If you keep the matter out of the front of your mind, things will eventually work themselves out. There isn’t much you can do except hold on and wait.

GEMINI
May 21 – June 21
Chance meetings happen all the time. This week, it is prudent for you to stay especially alert in your interactions with people. Sometimes encounters aren’t so random after all.

CANCER
June 22 – July 22
Sometimes you need to be careful that what you are wishing for is exactly what you want. There is a problem in your social circle that you wish would end. Just make sure that it is given enough time to end happily for everyone involved. Rushing things only creates more problems.

LEO
July 23 – August 22
Your friends love you and only want the best for you. With that in mind, try not to be overly critical of their advice. Most of the time, they mean anything that they say in the best way possible; it just doesn’t always come out the right way.

VIRGO
August 23 – September 22
Do you find that you are constantly in the position of listening, but are rarely asked for your opinions? Speak up and speak out for and against whatever is important to you. People would love to hear your opinions. Try not to worry about the backlash.

LIBRA
September 23 – October 22
With the end of the semester in sight, you may find that it is becoming difficult to keep everything in check. Even though you love those individuals closest to you, it is time to put yourself first. While you may love others, it is more important to keep your own sanity.

SCORPIO
October 23 – November 21
Be careful about the things that you say and how you say them exactly. Though you may not realize it, your words can wound and sometimes do. People trust you. Take care not to burn them.

SAGITTARIUS
November 22 – December 21
Do you find yourself between goals, unsure of where you stand? Everyone has periods of uncertainty and this just happens to be yours. As you generally like things to be clear cut and orderly, this may deeply bother you. You will get through it eventually if you make yourself available for new opportunities to arrive.

CAPRICORN
December 22 – January 19
Romance tends to ebb and flow like the tides. Sometimes your passion is much stronger than others. Just be careful that you’re not seeing love where it doesn’t truly exist. People have a tendency to want something so badly that they don’t know when to let go and call it quits. Keep your heart and your mind in balance.

AQUARIUS
January 20 – February 18
If you have been thinking of reviving an abandoned project, now is definitely the time. Though you may have experienced failure in the past, the winds of fortune dictate that this time, things will be different. Don’t be afraid to try and try again.

PISCES
February 19 – March 20
Don’t let your aspirations get ahead of your reality. You have a tendency to dream bigger than you can handle. While it is good to think of the future, do not live with your head in the clouds. You may be missing something here on the ground.

Poetic Perfection

You and You Alone

By Erica Mann

What is the meaning of life anyway?
Why are we even here?
What does God want us to do with it?
With ourselves?
It’s a gift
What if you don’t want to accept this gift though?
How could a gift be oh so hard to take in?
Very few people have found the truth of living…

I think about what my family and Grandmother tell me
Their words are far more important than anyone I’ve ever spoken to
Acts only work on an audience
And life is a true award given to you by your parents and by God
Once you find the ideal meaning,
You’ll know,
You will then succeed
For everyone else,
Maybe someday you will realize,
Maybe someday you will grow up and find out for yourself
There’s further more to life then existence
More to it than most people even know about or will ever find
Only you can determine the definition and live for what is right
This life is no one’s except for your own

Ode To Wiffleball

In response to the blossoming of spring
and all it brings, I give you....

By Adam K. Ellis

Ode to…
It does not travel
at a rapid pace.
And the balls flow free
minus the company of a lace

Pay homage
to this gentle game.
It is played for fun,
And not for fame.

It whizzes and wiffles
off the golden stick.
And defies laws of physics,
as if a magician’s trick.

I am enamored
With this dear sport.
Because it can be played
by anyone, of any sort.

So get together
One and all.
It is time to play
Wiffleball.

Particles

By Shara Marie

Forget the promises you chose to make
All trust has been washed away today
Disgusted by the words you say I can’t
listen anymore than I could before
It’s happening again once more I
should have never let you back inside
even for just one more try But I did
and I did and I did Now what’s left
in my chest is nothing more than
a pile of dust Forgetting you like
you forgot me is a must.

Bricks on my Back

By Erica Mann

Traveling through a thing called life
Lugging a back of blocks
I can’t go anywhere without this big bag, it’s a huge part of me
Like rain and gray skies
Trying to construct a pathway to plow through
Roving with an empty, rock-stoned heart-
Brittle to the touch
My body is a saltine, slowly crumbling down

Trying to hustle but my shackled ankles can’t move like I’d hope
The bricks are holding me down, closer and closer to the pavement
Pilling up like old tax returns, explosions like the twin towers
My back aches, I need help
I need a pain reliever; these bricks are too much to handle for one person to hold
This path is getting old too quickly, nothing but straight lines and crossed arrows
Nothing new, nothing exciting to look forward too
Just looping around the same, old weeds
What can you do?
There is no greater path
Than living without the bricks on my back

These bricks will be with me as I continue this journey forever
I will try to explore greater gardens
But my hands will always get tied; having something on my back…
Not much more I can take after traveling years with it
I can’t continue these paths, but I know I need to
I need to discover the end of this,
The light of the moon,
The stars crying out to me
I don’t even know if there is an end…
Is there a shinning light at the end of this tunnel?
Will this path bring me there?
Or will the bricks keep holding me back?
Seems I’ll never know, all I can do is keep dragging through
Just keep going and going and going..
Until maybe someday,
Eventually the bag will wear-and-tear and the bricks will slowly fall out
Moving forward and forward to my light,
At the end of my journey,
This bag will finally be empty, I will then be complete
My sorrows will be all gone and I will find the light of day
Ill be drinking out of a clearer glass

If you would like to see your own poetry published in the Torch, email ssarnelli@umassd.edu.