Lit/Pub #IV - The Wake Up Issue - Spring2024
The magazine of Professor Andrea di Robilant literary class at The American University of Rome. "Last year’s issue of Lit/Pub was about the slow return to a post-Covid world. This year, the initial theme was dreams – time to get on with it and think about the future. But the more we discussed what to put in the issue, the more it became apparent that a lingering wariness was still in the air, even a certain complacency. Hence the exhortatory title – The Wake Up Issue – which Isabella Klepikoff has deftly captured in the design of this year’s cover: a wolf resting by a Roman fountain. He looks to be resting, but his lively green eyes tell us he is stirring back to action."
The magazine of Professor Andrea di Robilant literary class at The American University of Rome.
"Last year’s issue of Lit/Pub was about the slow return to a post-Covid world. This year, the initial theme was dreams – time to get on with it and think about the future. But the more we discussed what to put in the issue, the more it became apparent that a lingering wariness was still in the air, even a certain complacency. Hence the exhortatory title – The Wake Up Issue – which Isabella Klepikoff has deftly captured in the design of this year’s cover: a wolf resting by a Roman fountain. He looks to be resting, but his lively green eyes tell us he is stirring back to action."
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Prose<br />
Buddy in Ink<br />
By Kyra Berg<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are countless reasons why I shouldn’t do it. I don’t commit. I don’t do needles. I don’t<br />
do pain. My self-image doesn’t include “girl with a tattoo.” Yet here I am, in the tattoo parlor, prepping<br />
for my first tattoo.<br />
My parents gave me a dog when I turned five. It was a light brown Chihuahua mix, and I fell<br />
in love with him right away. He was my buddy. So I called him Buddy even though my parents teased<br />
me for choosing that name. He protected me for fifteen years. Even recently, when I came home sick<br />
from college and needed an at-home IV, Buddy watched over me until the needle was removed. Once<br />
he knew I was okay, he jumped into my lap and fell asleep.<br />
For the last few years, it was my turn to take care of him. Buddy had cancer. He survived major<br />
surgery and afterwards had to take more than ten pills a day. <strong>The</strong> last six months, he wore his diaper<br />
and lion cone with pride. He could not go up and down the stairs, but he would look up at me and<br />
give me permission to carry him. It was a miserable life, but God, he was so happy to be alive.<br />
Even though Buddy fought hard to stay with us, my mom and I had to decide for him. His last<br />
day was the worst day of my life. Thankfully, we were able to euthanize him at home and make it as<br />
peaceful as possible.<br />
I kept his collar, made a paw print (clay and framed), and even collected some of his fur in a<br />
small bag. For days I did not leave the couch downstairs where we had said our last goodbye. I scrolled<br />
endlessly through thousands of pictures of Buddy on my phone. Nothing consoled me.<br />
<strong>The</strong>n I thought that if I could endure a few minutes of pain, I could have Buddy with me forever.<br />
I searched for tattoo parlors near me and found a spot with good reviews and booked an appointment<br />
before I could wimp out. I settled on a picture that perfectly captured him: Buddy would always<br />
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