to do. With my thoughts and emotions,I easily get mental level. sidetracked and tend to feel lost or just dis- tracted by everything around me. 42nd Street has al- Home is a place like no other, ways been a place for me to find peace, comfort, and But it's difficult to discover an ongoing sense of why I love New York. Your comfort, your love, your mental All broken Finding myself has caused me to develop And your words stay unspoken comfort and peace with my mind, soul, and body. You've found a home and now you feel like no other When everything feels overwhelming, I find myself You've discovered your peace eager to go to the city and watch everything around You've built a stable place me. This is one place I feel most spiritually and emo- Now you don't feel misplaced tionally connected. It's a place where I feel like I be- long, and a place where I connect to most on the ~~~~~
Letters to My Grandmother Faye Krelic There are only twenty-six letters in the alphabet, yet morning, the letters filled me up with excitement and there is an infinite amount of stories, emotions, and happiness. Not only was I able to build a bond and history that can be written. During the COVID-19 trust between us, but I was also able to learn through pandemic, I felt alone and isolated; I could not leave the letters I wrote and the letters my Grandma wrote my small apartment and was living with my Dad, Step- to me. Mom, and sister. Before the letters, my Grandma was someone who Of course, I had people I could talk to, but when you taught me how to love, be passionate, diligent, under- are with the same people all the time you would rather standing, and, most importantly, how to be kind. just keep to yourself. I also had friends that I trusted Through these letters I was able to realize the impor- and knew I could count on; however, it was hard to tance of these characteristics through her experiences talk over text and facetime all the time. It felt difficult and how meaningful it was for me to learn from her. to know if the relationship was real over a Zoom call While reflecting on my experiences in school and in or an Instagram message. Then unexpectedly a rela- my younger years through writing about them I was tionship that was close became closer; my Grandma able to realize the ways in which I have grown as a per- Jean would call me all the time throughout quarantine, son and where growth is still possible. Through my re- we would talk about life and she would tell me stories flections I have learned that by being kind you spread about her childhood. During our conversations, I positivity onto others. The letters helped me reflect in would mention how much I wished I had a pen-pal, a positive way while being able to learn the importance someone I could send letters to and receive letters of kindness and the ways little acts of kindness, like from. I craved a relationship with someone that felt the letters my Grandma and I wrote to each other, can more physical and through letters, I knew that I would positively impact each others’ lives. find what I was missing. My Grandmother is one of the biggest role models One day I unexpectedly received a letter from my in my life and without her, I would not be who I am Grandmother, filled with stories from her childhood today. Although we live far from each other, our con- and pictures from when she was younger that went nection is like two magnets that send waves to each along with the stories. Being able to hear about her other to pass on messages and feelings. I aspire to be childhood and teenage years gave me time to step back the woman (to others) my Grandmother is to me, and into the past and learn about my Grandmother's life. to help inspire and teach future generations the im- It was something that made our connection stronger portance of kindness, love, diligence, patience, and un- and it sewed up the 1,204 miles of physical distance derstanding. From my experiences of receiving between us. The letters made me feel grateful to have kindness and passing kindness on to others, I have a distraction from the chaos of the real world and been able to learn that it is the most important trait to filled my need to have a physical connection to some- have in life. One day I hope I will be the supportive one outside my home. and loving woman my Grandmother is to me to some- one else and make a difference in someone else’s life `very time I received a letter from my Grandmother I through working in the field of education. felt like a young child opening presents on Christmas
I Heard Them and I Still Hear Them Yerali Lopez I heard them and I still hear them Above the loud blasting bachata outside Above the roaring 4 train zooming by my window Above the honking from the highway Above it all you can still hear children laughing from Crotona Park The bright billboards in Fordham The cheering chants from the Yankee Stadium Above it all are still the tios playing dominoes in front of the buildings Above the rushing sirens of the ambulance from el Lebanon Above it all still the gunshots and fear growing in us all, BOOM Above it all are the stars that shine among us all Above the speeding motorcycles on Grand Concourse The rumbling music from every block party The pompas blasting water creating such a mist Above it all are the delayed B and D trains heading to the Yankee Stadium The sighs from the cramped trains Above it all are the crying children who could not get the toys they wanted from the vendors on 170th Street Above it all I could only dream of what it once was
In the Chasm of My Mind Riti Shrestha My mind is in constant wreckage. Well, love of course! The broken Ferris wheel relentlessly whirling My love for you has consumed me. Endless use, rust I have started to decay You, in and out as I plummet to the depths of despair Memories, happy and sad as my mind, no longer my own Ideas, illuminated and extinguished as my body, just an empty shell housing a barren soul Each compartment Your hubris snatched what little I had churning, being destroyed, churning, destroyed and now I am furious. Furious with what has become of me What's left are scattered thoughts in piles of chaos I am afraid of the stalactites of dark scribbles in motion that have emerged and I'm left to sort through them all from my crystallized tears as those are also yours. I'm always looking for something maybe a Lost thought, a Lost idea, a Lost memory And so, amidst the chaos and destruction and just when I think I've found it, I make a decision it is utterly obliterated I take a boat and drift away What gets in the way The empty shell floats every and the ballrooms are vacant single yet you're still the only one dancing. time, you ask?
A Love Letter to my Younger Self Anelim Santiago To her, the one who’d hold me when i’d cry, the one who’d wipe the tears dry. The one who’d escape and dream, who’d never had the voice to scream. She’d hear the echoes and whispers of her enemies haunting her; Her heroes dying alone, mis-wanting her. She’d spin till the lights die down, for someone to see her in her pity gown. She’d wake up in the middle of the night, pacing like a ghost, feeling time move, just almost. Rosy cheeks growing tired, from ingenue to feeling unadmired. Being told her cages are mental and becoming wasted potential. Someone else lights up the room. She’d try to bide time, feeling the weight age on her spine. Looking in the mirror, seeing the terror of what will become of her. Her dress, once shiny, now rusting. Having a hard time adjusting. Her words shoot to kill, yet she's the only open wound. She hears the echoes and whispers once again. This time different words pierced leaving a stain. This is me trying. Help me hold onto you. I can no longer blame it on my youth. You're long gone from me, but I still feel your pain. Nurturing you, even when I can't recognize who we once were, but you’re not to blame. We didn’t mean to turn this way. She’s still trying to rewrite her path. She catches herself still wanting to put herself on display. At least I'm trying.
Hello Meets Goodbye Jasmina Nosirova With every hello comes a goodbye: our eyes brush over each other, scanning to see if we are the same person our hearts and minds battled over we meet again– We were once strangers with memories, but something led us back to each other. Hello; it feels weird to say these words how long has it been? Time ran away from me Oh, how nostalgic it feels to talk to you again; pieces of you rush back into my mind that locked you out, Every memory unfolds, falling back into perfectly-fitted puzzle pieces Every unsaid words wanting to spill out Yet, how can a four letter reply create a tornado in my stomach? Being reminded why we had to say goodbye– What if we have to say goodbye again? After all, With every hello comes a goodbye.
Editorial Staff Jasmina Nosirova, Julianna O’Neill, Faye Krelic, Athalia Elvis, Yaralee De La Cruz, and Raquel Almandarez Publications Staff Anaya Castillo, Riti Shrestha, Alyssa Pabon, and Avery Salomon Adviser Magda Adamczyk Assistant Advisor Meghan Dawson Assistant Principal, English Language Arts Nancy Moore Special thanks to the English Language Arts Department for fostering artistic creativity in the classroom and for encouraging their students to share their work. Special thanks for the Graphics & Illustration Department for sharing their students’ work. Special thanks to Mr. Randy Abdallah for his ongoing technical support
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