Back Porch Review 2020

ROOTS & BRANCHES
Our 2020 Quarantine Edition of The Back Porch Review is
presented on PowerPoint Slides…the theme, Roots and
Branches, is represented by a selection of beautiful
covers created digitally by students. We lead off with
those covers.
Our staff this year includes Katie Herz, Amya Gilliam, Erin
VanTassel, Angel Bielen, Gabrielle Flig, Nora Jamison,
Sophia Ossi, Ella Brown, Jeremiah Carfello, Leandra
McMahon and Rachel Barnable.
.
Advisor is Mrs. Kathy Weyant. Many thanks to our Art
teachers for providing beautiful art to accompany the
writing.
Graphic by Alyssa Kondron

Beckett Benneyan, grade 12

Charlie Standaert, grade 10

Madison Freifelder, grade 12

Gracie Boss, grade 12

Christina Lavirino, grade 10

Aly Stella, grade 12

Madison Gray, grade 10

Aleah Germinario, grade 11

Emily Picado, grade 12

Alyson Van Gulick, grade 10

Awakening
by Katie Herz, grade 12
Surrounded by winter
cold dark world
the changes start
around me
the Earth begins
to warm again
nature's rebirth
through the cracks
to the borough
where I dwell
vibrations from children
overhead
and their laughter
I know well and
trees shake off their webs.
Now it's time to slither out
and sun myself instead.

Anthony Hildago, grade 11

Black and Yellow
by Ella Brown, grade 10
i heard yesterday’s last buzzing
yesterday was stung with pain
fields of green and poison
a reaper of rain
it drops down like a crystal
on my sweet and golden pistil
and lacks royalty to entertain.
black and yellow
black and yellow
weakened fellow with toxic stain
and honey as the only gain
days walk, weeks run
departure reeks the mourning sun
for rebirth strikes but stays undone
until it comes to only one
black and yellow,
loud as a cello
they fight right back
we turned them black
just black

Kiana Kerton, grade 11

Dance of Directions
by Gabrielle Flig, grade 10
Enter the hive,
Find a crowd!
Quickly,
Quickly -
Left, and
Left, and
Left again!
Left
Left, and
Left, and
Left again!
Left -
Left, and
Left, and
Left again!
Left!
Time is short!
Found the crowd,
Now go
Buzz and switch,
Twirl and
The crowd gathers -
Speed up
The dance!
They follow -
Buzz and switch,
Twirl and
The crowd gathers -
The map is set!
Follow the crowd;
The dance repeats!
Buzz and switch,
Twirl and

a
Sarah Petak, grade 10

Love in the Trees
By Rachel Barnable, grade 10
Love is like branches
you meet someone and
you love him a lot
but sometimes that love
doesn’t work out
and so you move on
and another branch appears
another story
these branches can be long
or short
sometimes there is only
one
and sometimes there are many
we must make the most of it
before we get
chopped down

Faith Mitchell, grade 12

Broken Spirit
By Sophia Ossi, grade 10
(Inspired by Grass by Carl Sandburg)
I am -
(broken)
Struggling to frantically
Find and gather the pieces
Of my broken -
(spirit)
I find myself stumbling
Into your unfamiliar arms.
Finally, a new start.

Madison Gray, grade 10

Hidden Magic
By Jeremiah Carfello, grade 10
Seeds settle in silt
they crack
they brittle
they break
The roots like hands spread
reach down digging soil from up under
they push
they dig
they descend
As the tree grows stronger
no one notices
the magic underneath

Melanie Heller, grade 10

Delicate Flower
By Madison Freifelder, grade 12
Her shyness is a secret hidden in silence.
Concealed in her own thoughts
she disappears to daydream
her mind screaming
with vivid color and emotion
no one can hear.
Solitude is her companion.
Observing more than she speaks,
protecting herself from the imperfections
of the world.
She inhales the gentle, silence-filled air.
She listens.
She is a delicate flower.

Idalis Santiago, grade 10

Alone
by Angele Bielen, grade 10
The night watched him,
his heart thumping louder
than the tambourine next to him
watching a bird fly closer to the sky
than he ever could
emptiness bringing him and the sky
closer to one another
even the billions of eyes in the sky
could not convince him
that he was not
alone

Kim Campbell, grade 10

My Family
By Amya Gilliam, grade 11
Roots started my family off
The branches are what brings us together
From the African, Taino, and Spanish
Branching out into Boricua culture
Learning something new everyday
Dancing bachata and merengue
with my family
And eating the same thing
almost everyday
My family is tied together
Forever
Nate Horn, Grade 9

Kelsie Shinall, grade 10

Passages
By Erin VanTassel, grade 11
Walking into the nursing home felt like
walking into a different dimension where
everyone was sad, in pain or on edge. The
pain-filled groans of the elderly echo down
the hallways made it feel like an infirmary
during a war.
My grandpa lay in the hospital bed
preparing to end a long battle he has fought
for the past two years. The hiss of his
oxygen tank, like bombs whistling, made me
feel I was on the losing side with him. The
smell of disinfectant, urine and cleaning
products made me feel dizzy to the point
where everything went blurry.
Like trying to look through the fog of
war where surrender seems the only option.

Leah Stansfield, grade 10

Unprepared
by Jeremiah Carfello
I peered through my window on a Thursday evening
fall foliage fumbled as winter approached
nothing could prepare us for what was soon to unfold
it was all a joke at first, no one paid attention to it
as spring approached and scilla flowers sprouted
we were staring the pandemic right in the face
18,000 dead in Italy we didn’t bat an eye
but now tens of thousands dead in the US and
all I can ask is
“Why did we not pay attention?”

Drayson Charman, grade 10

Ice and Fire
By Angele Bielen, grade 10
These branches have fought for so long
they have surrendered themselves to starry nights,
buzzing fireflies, and harsh winds of winter
the blazing wildfires that burn into every tree
give the branches a sense of rebirth
Just like the white blanket that hangs in the air and
falls down on the living, ice freezing time
Mother Nature, exhausted from the
changing seasons,
hits the pause button and
natural disasters came to play
The restless flowers and trees are warriors
carrying on their sacred instincts and practices
ice and fire could be so destructive
yet a sight for sore eyes
the way fire ignites a soul
as ice chills someone to the bone.

Julia McQuaid, grade 10

Alphabet Bees
by Jeremiah Carfello
Fluttering
Flying
Floating
Blink you miss their fleeting beauty
Dart
Dash
Dance
The summer rays shine down like a heat lamp
Buzzing
Bumbling
Blaring
The bees in the hive create a tornado of noise
Soaring
Speeding
Streaming
A yellow wave soars in search of golden sugar
Roaring
Resounding
Ringing
Dark clouds cover the sky like a thick blanket
Tottering
Tumbling
Toppling
Sudden rain pelts them like a coat of thick paint
Crawling
Clambering
Climbing
Their wings fill with water, some break
Shiver
Slow
Succumb

Kiana Kerton, grade 11

Buried and Risen
by Gabrielle Flig
Soil rolls past her fingers, churning, whisking
older soil onto the bright patch of blooming grass
pillbugs, worms, and millipedes all breached
from under the soil by child-sized hands
rocks, clay, and roots scrape
against the girl’s soiled hands
rags, teeth, and skull are resurrected by the girl.
Dylan Fischer, grade 9

Alonnah Evelyn, grade 12

Like a Bee
by Leandra McMahon, grade 10
I open my eyes and see
my window covered in water droplets
a beautiful sight to me
is an eternity of sorrow to another
like a bee caught in a storm
I lay there motionless
listening to the sound of despair hit the glass
I’m useless unimportant
until I’m not
My eyes fall closed once again
to realize nothing truly mattered
cause in the end we’re all just here
until we’re not.

Emily Picado, grade 12

Safe Haven
by Lara O’Toole, grade 12
My mother held me when I was 4,
When my father had ripped blankets and stuffed
animals from my closet in a fit of rage which trigger
I cannot recall
I don’t remember the words, just the sounds of his
yell and the security of my mother arms
Like a safe haven that would never let go of me
My mother comforted me eight years later
When I told her I was not the child she thought I
was going to be, that I longed for the care and
security from the same gender as my own
though she questioned as if I was a killer on the
stand she deemed me as innocent, and believed
me and my truth
I felt that I had returned to the haven, created and
kept by her and I
My mother defended my truth ever since then.
When my father blamed my first love for who I truly
was, she was the one who validated me as real.
When he believed that the demons in my head
were a fiction of my imagination, she found every
outlet to let those demons go, finding me new
havens to feel safe and secure
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My mother left me almost two months ago.
She could not deal with the silence and
carelessness of my father anymore.
Though he is an improved man, she described
him as ‘too little too late.’
All the heart-wrenching songs that I equated
with past lovers became about her.
The house felt bigger than usual, as I felt smaller
than ever for my haven was relocated to a place I
visit for dinners and weekends
My mother doesn’t know how I’ve felt since she
left.
Neither does my dad, but I never anticipated
telling him either.
For now, his outbursts have subsided and kind
words have appeared.
But I still wait for the day he will say “I love you”
before I do.
And for the day I can talk to him about girls
without a fear of judgement.
But for now, alas, my haven is gone, and I’m left
to create my own.

Kayla Cruz, grade 12

The Road
By Rachel Barnable, grade 10
This road used to be just a road. Made of gravel and pavement mix, a road
for cars to drive down on and a road for kids to grow up on. Trees loom
over the houses along the road. When it rained, their leaves shielded the
children from getting wet.
As a child, my friends and I always ran up and down the road. We
rode our bikes on that road. When school started our parents took
pictures of us at the bus stop at the end of the road. Summer nights as a
child were the best. At night the smell of bug spray filled the air, while
silhouettes of bats flew from tree to tree across the starry skies. Those
nights we played games and had fun in the road. One night I tried to catch
crickets to feed to our neighbor's lizard.
Every night, even on school nights, we’d run across the road to each
other's houses and hangout. Catching fireflies and setting them free,
playing red light, green light or mr midnight, and sometimes just hanging
around a fire pit at one of the houses.
As we got older we stopped talking to each other. At about eight,
we stopped hanging out. The road became a barrier rather than a bridge.
We all got new friends and barely talked to each other. The last time I
actually spoke to one of them was in eighth grade; it was only one word.
Now that we’re in high school they all still talk to each other a little,
mostly when we’re walking up towards our houses from the bus stop. But
they don’t talk to me.
I could go on thinking about how things could’ve been when we all still
hung out with each other; I miss those times. I feel like I’m the one who
caused it since I was a mean spoiled brat back then. But now, since I’ve
changed my ways, I’d love to know how it would’ve worked out if we still
hung out together. But for now I just walk along this road in silence.
Now walking up this road it feels… lonely… but I’m still going. I’ve
always had my life planned out ;from eighth grade, I had plans to go to
college while no one else had a plan. But now, with only two years left of
high school, everyone knows what they’re going to do and how they’ll
end up. While me, with the reality of how expensive college is….. I have
no clue now what I’m going to do. Like what happened? How did I not
catch the train? They’re all moving forward and I’m trying to catch up and
jump on… but… I don’t think I can make it.
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I want to be a kid, still. I don’t want to grow up. I want those nights
back in the summer again. I don’t want things to change. But even if I
can make things go back to how they were, to stay the same, the world
around me still moves on.
The road… ah, yes, the road. It’s still here. But I have forgotten
about it. Everyone does. We don’t notice it, we don’t care for it. After
all, it’s just a road. But I can’t shake the motherly feeling of the road.
It’s as if we were her children and she watched us grow up. And every
time it rains, streams of tears run down her face because she knows
we’re getting older and we’re going to leave soon.
But no one thinks of these things. They just walk mindlessly along the
road towards their homes. People change and the world changes.
Growing up is changing. You can never go back to the way it used to
be, even if you tried to. It’ll still be different.
But here we walk up to our houses coming home from school, going
about, growing up, and leaving the past behind.
After all a road is just a road.
Maya Sauer, grade 11

Seasonal Purgatory
By Ella Brown, grade 10
and the burning bush
kisses winter on its cheek,
silence tunnels into itself.
cardinals longing for silence
cardinals who rest on gold-crested hedges,
burning into dawn like lava and honey,
burning like a can of opened cinnamon,
Macintosh and frosted rivers.
a fallen purgatory of seasons
seasons of colors flying by their lonesome
slowly, gradually
October departs and red stays

Bay window
by Rachel Barnable, grade 10
Dyllan Terwilliger, grade 9
Many days I sit looking out through this bay
window onto the great whiteness of the snow
and one big lonely
evergreen tree
Many years alone
the cold overwhelms the emptiness
yet through the window the evergreen still stands
tall over all this land with no one to share it
Many times resting under this lonely evergreen,
friends experiencing the fine cold
and emptiness together,
a rush of icy cold wind hits
and the evergreen feels just
cold and empty
I open my eyes and realize I’m still in my window
looking out at the big evergreen.

Jordan Toll, grade 12

Person Imitates Bee
By Sophia Ossi, grade 10
Bees
Make music, convey emotion
Buzzing and whirring
Of their wings flapping
In the wind.
The angry slam
Of a door
After an argument
A hostile swarm
Buzzing, surrounding their home
Feeling betrayed
Cold freezing night
All alone
The bees are frozen
Stuck
After the storm, bees will dance again
Gracefully to the music
Of their wings
Wounds heal,
Hearts do, too.

Elizabeth Murray, grade 9

Spider - Man
By Leandra McMahon, grade 10
the spider sat still on the windowsill
a human stood, a newspaper at the ready,
for to him a spider is nothing but an
undesired creature
and to it,
we are the same
but if we walked the footsteps of the little
legged creature
on the windowsill
we would understand
that he is designed to be loved
rather than hated
and we are designed to be loved
rather than hated
and yet our worlds seem to be clashing
and neither of us can get our jobs right
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Abby Straub, grade 9

Neverlasting
By Nora Jamison, grade 10
Time is like shards of glass
Once broken it can never repair
When your young life is vibrant and full of color
No fright or financial functions only frantic fun!
Sky’s Limitless!
A Tree is a Rocket!
A Box is a Car!
A Bush is a Dragon!
But Time is fragile and catches up with you
And Soon?
Imaginary becomes ordinary
A Tree is just a tree
A Box is just a box
A Bush is just a bush
Rainbows turn to rain
And all your colors wash away
Leaving you bereft with the color grey

Julia Todd, grade 12

Erica Gyori, grade 10

Golden Girl
by Erin Van Tassel
On the outside she is perfect
from her head to her feet
but what people don’t know
is how she feels underneath
She doesn’t show any imperfections
because she is under the impression
that she has to be perfect
she is just waiting for someone
to see her truth
and not as the
Golden Girl

Kiana Kerton

Storm’s Song
By Jeremiah Carfello
Thunder rumbles
towards the music hall
over narrow cobblestone corridors
The sovereign song
of grey clouds echoed
through the vacant apartment
where the tapestry is hung
Julia Todd, grade 11

Madison Freifelder, grade 12

Lauren Waschek, grade 9
Blanket
By Sophia Ossi
Stretched or scrunched
folded or unfolded
neat or messy
she embraces her blanket in the
tightest hug there is
becoming the blanket
full of love and warmth
everything she craves
and deserves.

Kayla Patterson, Grade 10

Ally Stella, grade 12
Broken Barricades
By Nora Jamison
My roots run through me like emotional veins
as my heart opens,
my veins burst making me feel
as if I was cursed so I put up a wall.
Branches barricade my heart
patching up the scars catching the pain, locking it all away
blocking it all in the neglected corner of the brain.
My burdens were the size of Mars
so what was I to do but put up some bars
protecting me from anything or anyone that comes close
For it was my fear that made me feel lost,
love that truly paid the ultimate cost.

Porcelain and Pine
By Gabrielle Flig
Two dolls,
porcelain and wooden,
sit on the same shelf.
The china-crafted figure
from generations back
never looked so young.
Ashen blushes and wavering colors
perfect for the eyes.
The wooden marionette,
reeking fresh of pinewood,
never looked so old.
Vibrant reds strands and green fabric
compliment the naturally tanned surface,
safe for the grubby hands.
Flutters of footsteps enter the room.
Small hands grab at the ceramic doll,
plucking it off the shelf;
the model of pine remains.
Glass on wood reverbs the halls,
scattering colorful fragments
across darkened flooring.
Upon the shelf
Painted eyes stay fixed.
A doll, of wood,
stays seated on a shelf.

Jonessa Rodriques, grade 10

Fading
by Katie Herz
I can almost feel the sun
I’m almost touching the sky
I watch the cardinals and blue jays
Flying through the brisk air
While the days pass
I feel myself losing color
From green, to orange, to brown
I feel life fading before my eyes
Like an ocean losing its color
Like a child losing her innocence
The change from day to night, dying star in the sky
Peacefully relax, and accepting the change

Jeremy Fitzpatrick, grade 11

Love
By Hailey McGovern, grade 12
Love should not feel like you’re always
doing someone a favor.
Love should not be crying yourself to sleep at night.
Love should not feel like being alone in a crowded
room.
Love should not be yelling and forceful behavior.
Love should be beneficial to all parties.
Love should be gentle touches to wipe the tears.
Love should be feeling as though you always have
someone.
Love should be words that wrap you in a warm hug.
Love may come in many forms but,
Love should never make you feel as though you can’t,
Love yourself.
Love others.

Aly Stella

Show Me
by Amya Gilliam
Come on and show me
Show me another city
Better than the one that I’m in
Take me to a place where I have never been
Where the city is alive
And the skyline shines
Oh take me somewhere
Somewhere that is bright
Don’t leave me alone
Cause I won’t last a night

Kim Campbell

My silly siblings
By Julianna Venditte, Grade 12
My sister is named Isabella
Some of her friends call her Bella
She is so silly when she plays with her umbrella
It always gets caught in the mozzarella
Then she begins to eat Nutella
My silly siblings
My brother is named Eric
He does not have a nickname
He is so silly when he plays his bridge game
But he always hits his head on the bed frame
He gets so upset his head explodes with air flames
Then he starts playing with his express trains
My silly siblings
Isabella and Eric love being silly
My favorite is when they play with chili
They won a milli and brought home a filly
This is making me so silly
My silly siblings

Mariel Castro

Stuck
By Ella Brown
I walked across
the rain soaked valleys
and trees struck by God’s wrath.
Like branches,
I reached my arms out to the sky
and just for a moment
brought heaven into the palms of my hand.
Time passed through me,
stealing away homes and flicking at mountains,
ripping apart the sky,
but I did not sway.
My headful of ideas,
genius trapped and rotten,
I want to circle the globe,
and play with asteroids.
I want a picnic in the Milky Way,
and a party in the galaxy.
But I settle for less,
only passing through the islands,
toward golden bridges that never saw my storm.
yet I did not sway,
I did not grow.
and I’m still stuck.

Kayla Sepulveda, grade 11

Love
By Kiera Stellingwerf, grade 12
A feeling that shakes your core,
Makes your knees weak,
And your stomach churn,
Like an eruption of butterflies,
Or fluffy pink skies.
A feeling to fill you with warmth,
Like hot chocolate on a snowy night,
The merging of two hearts,
As deep as the sea,
With the waves crashing on shore,
And the stars shining bright.
A feeling like home,
Cozy and kind,
With a garden out back,
And a swing to unwind.
With a white picket fence,
Where tulips bloom,
Or a cold glass of lemonade,
On a hot afternoon.

Anthony Hidalgo, grade 11

The Leaf
By Sophia Ossi
I cup my hands together
dipping them into rushing water
when the icy, clear liquid seeps through
the small cracks between my fingers and is gone.
I see a detached dead piece of life which I twirl around
in my fingers gingerly, curious -
it sits lifelessly, lining up with my life line
I notice how the root branches out against the heart line
and my head line, too.
My eyes wander back to the river that splits off
in three different branches, each smaller and separate river
resembling the root and my palm.
I look back at the remnant and think to myself
Where do you belong?

The Heart of the Matter
By Leandra McMahon
You slowly began to open your eyes
I felt your hand reach up and touch my face
before I intertwined my fingers with yours
like roots of a tree under the ground
you looked into my eyes with a sense of passion
or was it fear
were you scared to keep going
or did you want nothing more?
you slowly pulled your hand away
and time began again
and I was left there wondering
did you feel what I felt
or did I imagine it all?

Nicholas Zinno, grade 12