Pathways 2024

R O M I S E S

VOLUME 42

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Pathways The Annual Art and Literature Magazine Volume 42 2023-24 Commack High School Scholar Lane, Commack NY 11725

Editor in Chief…………………………………………Sarah Goodman Co-Editor…………………………………….…………Avery Lundergan Art Editor…………………………………………………Nathan Clarke Literary Editor…………………………………………...Liza Zelkin Treasurer……………………………………Samantha Wagenberg Secretary………………………………………Antonella Pignataro Page Designer...................................Rebecca Morrison Advisor…………………………………………………………...…Mr. Raeihle

Front Cover Art…………………………………………………. Ellie Park

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Art - Literary Magazine Contributors Bianca Awerman Matthew Boyce Nathan Clarke Delia Davidoff Dylan Diaz Sophia Emanuel Luka Friis Sarah Goodman Avery Lundergan Elyse Man Melody Mattia Estelle Michel Rebecca Morrison Brianna Murphy Kayla Ng Ellie Park Sarah Park Antonella Pignataro Dillon Raffa Samantha Wagenburg Izabella Wilmer Liza Zelkin

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Editor’s Note (Editor-in-Chief) The value of an assurance varies by person. As one might make a lighthearted joke of a promise, it might mean much more to the one receiving it and vice versa. Promises can build and destroy relationships, they may linger on a person or be cleansed of the mind mere moments after they were made. When fulfilled, promises foster trust and closer connections. Though we bear good intentions when making promises, sometimes there are three common nuisances that lay in the back of our minds. Miscommunication, misinterpretation, and misunderstanding. How do we be rid of them?— by working on the skills and habits necessary to build healthy communication, and this includes understanding the value of promises we make as well as the wording by which we make them.

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Editor’s Note (Editor-in-Chief)- Cont’d.

I am almost certain there has not been a single person in this school who has never broken a promise. We all promise something, whether inconsequential or momentous, or perhaps we hold promise within ourselves. There may be a variety of reasons why a promise is broken— forgetfulness, misintention, inability, etc. Not all of the time is it our fault either. Regardless, the making and breaking of a promise is a daily occurrence, and one very often taken for granted. This is why “Promises” was chosen to be the theme of this year’s edition. We began this year’s edition with the hope of providing a breadth of art and writing with which people relate. We hope this promise was fulfilled. In appreciation of the beauty and sincerity of a promise, we bring you the 2023-2024 edition of Pathways Literary and Art Magazine.

Sarah Goodman, Editor-in-Chief, Pathways 2023-2024

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Editor’s Note (Co-Editor)

As Co-Editor of the 2023-2024 edition of Pathways Literary and Art Magazine, I would like to thank everyone who’s contributed to this magazine, whether you’ve helped design the pages or spent time creating art and writing for this year’s issue. Each person who’s made a contribution, no matter the size, has helped make this possible for the students who find joy in sharing their creative works with their peers.

The theme of this year’s edition of Pathways was “Promises”. We’ve all made promises, to ourselves and to others. We’ve all broken them too, whether or not we like to admit it. Promises are a powerful thing; they can nurture a relationship and build trust. But they can also break them down and can hurt when not given the nourishment and care they require in order to be kept. Promises can change people’s mindsets, and this is why it’s so important to keep them. We began this year with a promise to ourselves and to our peers that we would do justice to the beautiful pieces of art and literature produced by the 9th grade students of CHS, and I hope we’ve done just that.

Working in this club with my fellow members of Pathways is an experience I will remember for the rest of my high school career. During the making of this magazine, I’ve met many new people whom I share interests with and have made so many fond memories with. I hope you enjoy viewing the magazine just as much as we’ve enjoyed designing it. I promise you it will be worth it.

Avery Lundergan, Co-Editor, Pathways 2023-2024

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The Flowers Will Bloom Again

Each wintertime I watch With helpless anticipation As the lilypad flowers wither There is nothing I can do Save collecting her fallen petals: This is the way of nature Each springtime I stand With knowing anticipation On the dirt-laced banks of the river In Mother’s whisper Carried one promise “The flowers will bloom again.”

Sarah Goodman

Avery Lundergan 77

Failed Promises

Nathan Clarke

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I Promised You the Light I promised you the light The one that belittled storms The one that's strength had once been of a knight I promised you the light The one that weakened with each tick The one that faded more each night

I promised you the light I promised you the act of fading I promised you, it’s eternally bright I promised you the light

Sarah Goodman

Rebecca Morrison

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Burning Bridges

Estelle Michel 10 10

All things must go Promises have semblance to balloons, they grow larger and larger then they pop. The only proof that they were there is your shattered heart and the fragments of a once whole balloon.

Samantha Wagenberg

Nathan Clarke

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Hopeful Poem I am hopeful Because I don’t want to write a poem.

I want to weave a story.

I yearn to reach up into the sky And pull Sun’s unspoken words From their encapsulation, These words Of Stringy hair And sticky lips, Melted ice cream And calloused fingers.

I itch to skate across oceans On skis woven from Ocean’s whispers,

Bianca Awerman

These whispers Of The deep ocean blue, Forever stretching in all directions, Brilliant coral, Glowing in the dark, Seaweed, Drifting lazily Past skittering schools of fish And my hands shall weave a story from their smiles.

I am hopeful Because I don’t want to write a poem.

I’m going to weave a story That will tell the tall tales That no one else even dreamed of.

I am hopeful Because In the corners of the world, There are still stories Waiting to be discovered

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Promises What is a promise?

A vow A pledge A truth A commitment A sign of integrity What is a promise?

Something to be honored Something to be respected Something to be cherished Something to be admired Something to be take seriously What is a promise?

Devotion to honesty Trust in principles Faithfulness to stability Strength of character My word

Sophia Emanuel 13 13

The Promise of Resilience I am dropped headfirst into uncharted waters I feel the heat getting to me I remain unbroken even as it rises to my boiling point Even as it threatens to change me My brethren crack under the stress I harden And as they leave, suited for softness I will remain.

The hard-boiled egg.

Sarah Goodman

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String You Along

Sarah Park 15 15

“Empty Promise” You told me forever, You said you wouldn’t go.

Yet now I sit and think, Why did you say so?

So you tell them all now After making your vow Nobody is surprised, While on the bus I simply cry I know you had to leave, It’s the truth I can’t believe After five long years, You’re now in the clear.

Liza Zelkin

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Secrecies It eats at me From my stomach, eating 'till I am hollowed I fear to open my mouth I fear it will fall out before me I fear the implications So I let my stomach turn And let it gnaw me apart I'd rather this fate than break what I have sworn Sarah Goodman 17 17

A Promise of Progress

Nathan Clarke 18 18

False Promises Some people will say that a promise is more than just a word or something you say, But this is only true when the person saying it really cares.

We can ask ourselves, are they just saying it to stop the pestering?

Are they just saying it to shield a lie?

But we don’t ask. Although we know, we don’t ask.

So if we know, why are we still at ease when someone says they promise?

And why does it hurt so much when it’s broken?

Rebecca Morrison 19 19

Promises

Liza Zelkin

Promises They can be dark or light Promises Can be very opaque Promises

I Promise Freedom

What's in the dark comes to light Promises Be careful what you make

Dillon Raffa 20 20

Upon Sun’s Journey

Upon Sun's journey Over the skyline, Never shall there be a breach In what we have swore.

Dylan Diaz

And so as she peeks Nervous eyes Over the horizon, She shall see our hands Still intertwined In everlasting vow.

Bianca Awerman

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Promise Goddess

Aphrodite promised Paris Helen Prince Paris was deceived, for Paris believed himself promised Beauty Aphrodite had composed a war Aphrodite promised Paris Helen Yet Helen had not promised herself Helen had been married to the King Menelaus No enticement could shake this No love, no lust, no wealth Agamemnon promised Menelaus’ vengeance Gathered great men, Odysseus, Aristos Achaiōn Warboats sailed forth to Troy Hearts of steel, wrath of lion

Agamemnon promised Menelaus’ vengeance Gathered great men, on soft grasses they writhed These great men who killed These great men who died Aphrodite promised Paris Helen Beauty stricken ill with an unsound mind Had she given herself to Aphrodite’s manipulations?

Had she grieved her husband? For him had she pined?

Aphrodite promised Paris Helen She had promised nothing else No Patroclus for Achilles No Hector for Andromache No comedy, no tragedy This Promise Goddess promised a woman to a man And a woman who lost herself

Sarah Goodman 22 22

Visions From a Past Life “The promise of a man is the most sincere thing he give.”

Said a man who was obviously lying. Now the fact that one promise can hold so much weight is, if nothing else, astounding. However.

That doesn't negate the fact that while people like that still exist, they are so few and far between that it doesn’t matter if they do, it all ends up in the gutter. The reputation of man hasn't been upholded since the depths of the year two-thousand and seventy eight. While promising, the recent developments in Siberia aren't enough to help them. Even though they admittedly were not of total fault, the situation as a whole left a bad taste in the mouths of tens. Of thousands. Of millions. Being on this astoundedly inferior planet has destroyed and rattled my superior comprehension, and the utter fact that I am sanctioned here for 16 million more years when the whole thing went down in 60 is a joke. I expect to be duly punished for this heinous blunder but truly the fault lies elsewhere. The Haj Mah’lah is shutting the whole thing down next century if we dont bring it back by then. But I don't see how another hundred years, or even thousand can help the pitiful case of this wretched waste of a planet.

All that's left is to watch it burn. Slowly and painfully. All our work and conservations decimated, their backups burned too, and the backups of the backups… still stored in a safe and secure location.

But forbidden from eyes meet nonetheless. When 88234667 and I took this position, we had not anticipated the sheer self destructiveness of the native power. We naively swore, to their faces, that in ten years time their planet would have significant improvements. But without cooperation downfall was inevitable. We did what we could. This is 334543, out for what is perhaps the final time.

Nathan Clarke

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The Promise of Our Generation We live in the land of promises.

Promises of prosperity and equality, of safety and opportunity.

We are promised all of these things; we are promised none of them.

Though we push ourselves past our limits in pursuit of these promises, we are promised none of them.

How could we promise anything with the knowledge of nothing?

We know one thing; we are promised one thing.

Through a shutdown of the world to a disease for which we had no guidebook to aid, Through political turmoil in our homeland and in foreign nations, Through movements in which we took a stance…

Fighting for the equality, for the safety, for the freedom we were promised, It has all given light to our one true promise, our birthright.

In spite of the hardships of today, we are ensured the promise of tomorrow.

Sarah Goodman 24 24

I Promise to be There Until the End of the Road.

Liza Zelkin

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Estelle Michel

Promising Prodigy 26 26

A Fool's Promise

A fool’s promise is not empty words A fool’s promise is carefully spun Woven into a web of subtle deceit A fool’s promise is not bare bones It is plump, ripe, hearty meat A fool’s promise is very nearly true art A fool’s promise bears the confidence of a decree A fool’s promise is not so because it comes from you No, I fear this time the fool is me

Sarah Goodman 27 27

All things must go Promises grow as do vines on trees as do people, as do flowers and trees Thoughts grow too so do all living things The things I have stated are not all similar though one thing is true between them all one day the growth stops.

They all will die at one point it's the nature of life promises are a part of it.

Isabella Wilmer

Samantha Wagenberg

Life’s Growth

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What comes of a promise?

What do the words “I promise” truly mean will it be something you break or something you keep ? will you still be trusted If it's something you can't fulfill ?

What will be the consequences?

Will it be a mistake to break a promise that you shouldn't have made?

Making a promise, what does it imply?

Are you trapped saying something you didn’t mean?

What is essential?

Is it harmful, helpful, or maybe in between?

Now you're trapped in this impossible choice You need to keep this promise before it's too late To make it. you must understand, you must fulfill it or no longer will your trust remain Be careful Don’t get trapped with this promise you made You can’t revoke it, soon it will be too late

Samantha Wagenberg

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Promises of the Past

Sarah Goodman

It used to be quite simple There were simple rules along the palace walls We did what we were told We never strayed away We posed for portraits We were told they were for the people of the future Little did we know They were meant for us For our children too look upon There were paintings on the ceiling Upon the walls with the rules We were told to follow these rules Look upon the paintings Smile for the portraits For that is the only way to keep this monarchy going We were promised things would be perfect “The future generation” they said “It will be perfect” they said “It will be the same or even better than yours” they said This was their promise There are no more kings and queens with power here

Sami Wagenburg

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I Promise We Will Stay Together Forever

Walls Up

Elyse Man

You told me you didn’t know, I said I’d give you time.

I put myself on the line You blew my hope up, Like some old land mine.

I now put my walls back up, Even after you promised you cared Because I can’t trust you now I can no longer bear it.

Liza Zelkin

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SamI

Waiting

Make yourself a promise.

Do not wait for tomorrow's sun, do listen to today's rain.

Do not wait for tomorrow's summer, do enjoy today's winter.

Do not wait for tomorrow's happiness, do learn from today's sorrow.

And, most of all, do not let the pursuit of tomorrow taint what could be the joy of today.

Make yourself a promise, a promise not to wait, but a promise to enjoy life as it comes.

Isabella Wilmer 32 32

Of a Promise

My promises hold fast And reign though I am gone

Sarah Goodman

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PROMISE

The Promise of Communication

Samantha Wagenberg

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A Light Beyond the Broken Promise Nathan Clarke

Promise Haiku My trust, a fort strong Built by brick and promises This fort shall not fall

Sarah Goodman

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Our Promises Grow, Too I promise we’ll live in a huge castle together forever and we’ll have a hundred cats and we’ll never ever have to do anything without each other ever!” “

“I promise I’ll come over after school if my mom says okay!”

“I promise I’ll help you with that essay, really.”

“I promise I won’t tell them about what you did…”

“I promise I won’t ever forget you…”

“I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life with you, in sickness and in health, ‘til death do we part.”

“I promise I’ll have that appeal approved by next quarter!”

“I promise when we’re too old to take care of ourselves anymore, I’ll come to live in the same nursing home as you; we’ll hide from the nurses and tease the men!”

Sarah Goodman 36 36

Cross My Heart And Hope To Die

Avery Lundergan

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Matthew Boyce

Trust Lost 38 38

A Promise to My Bubba I made a promise to my Bubba Of Love and Walks and Treats everyday Of Mornings and Nights Of Winters and Summers’ play I made a promise to my Rescue Staring into soulful eyes And as I write I look again, know Bubba, this is my reprise

Sarah Goodman

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Antonella Pignataro

To Cherish the Earth

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Sarah Goodman

Promised Land

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Isabella Wilmer

A Promise 42 42

Luka Friis

Broken Promise

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Melody Mattia

Promise of a Full Heart 44 44

Brianna Murphy

Promises

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A Hand You Can Hold

A hand you can hold is one that will stay A promise as clear as day One you can have to squeeze And to assure you plans will go with ease A hand you can hold is one to which you can depend A trust you hope to never end One that you will owe your respect A friendship linked between two hands is one that you should always protect.

Delia Davidoff

Antonella Pignataro

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Reflection in The Rain

Promises are as good as rain.

They dry up one day then come back later to haunt you.

-Liza Zelkin

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Lock and Key

Kayla Ng Just my luck, I locked my lock. Where's my key? It promised it would always be there for me. Now I’m on a chain, what shall I do? Nowhere to go, no key to call to. They promised to be there, no longer mine since it left me hanging alone, when I only have another lock, now forced to be a part of me until I find a new key. For now there is no key to save us, its promise has died along with my trust for the once mine key.

Samantha Wagenberg

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The Machine of Promises

Promises are a machine Something that could break without one of its gears Gears that could allow it to funcion Trust, Truth, and Care Without them a promise are spoken words Not something that needs thought That needs emotion Just statements given, no notion Although trust is somethings that on can’t just feel If truth and care were not parts of the machine It never was and it wanted to be

Rebecca Morrison 49 49

The Fool is You You once told me I could not change That this silly dream of mine was way out of my range You made me feel like a fool at that moment From that day I vowed to make my dream come true My new found determination grew And I was determined to make a fool out of you I went ahead and changed my classes Even through tears staining my half broken glasses I vowed I would see this through And although I didn't have any of your support, I got enough from my rapport They taught me how to find success in persistence Now I'm a successful musician My reality no longer an ambition You even watched my solo on TV You may deny it, but you once told me I could not change But now that dream is more than in my range And in the end, the fool is you

Antonella Pignataro

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Pathways 2023-24

We would like to extend my deepest gratitude to each and every one of you for your incredible contributions to our art and literary magazine. The successful launch of this, our 42nd issue, would not have been possible without your dedication, creativity, and hard work.

Your unique artistic visions and literary talents have come together to create a magazine that truly reflects the diversity and richness of our collective imagination. Each piece, whether a work of art or a written composition, has added a unique thread to the vibrant tapestry that we are proud to present to our readers.

Thank you for your unwavering commitment and for trusting us with your creations. Your passion and talent shine through every page, making this edition not only a success but also a source of inspiration for all who read it.

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Pathways 2024

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BOARD OF EDUCATION Mr. Justin Varughese, President Mr. Steven Hartman, Vice President Dr. William Hender, Trustee Ms. Susan Hermer, Trustee Mr. Gus Hueber, Trustee SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS Dr. Jordan F. Cox ASSOCIATE SUPERINTENDENT FOR BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS Mrs. Laura A. Newman ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT FOR CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENT Mr. Timothy Russo ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT FOR HUMAN RESOURCES Mr. Scott Oshrin COMMACK HIGH SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION Mrs. Carrie Lipenholtz, Principal Mr. Matthew P. Keltos, Vice Principal Mrs. Andrea Allen, Assistant Principal Mr. Eric P. Biagi, Assistant Principal Mr. Toby Elmore, Director of Student Affairs COMMACK HIGH SCHOOL IS A TOBACCO-FREE CAMPUS

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