Patchwork 2023

Cushing Academy Literary Magazine 2023

Patchwork

Patchwork Cushing Academy Literary Magazine 2023 Editors

Xuan Claire Chu ’24 Xiangyu Sophia Kong ’26 Angela Li ’24 Evan Wingard ’24 Lauren Walsh ’24

Staff

Nathan Bledsoe ’23 Tongtong Amanda Guo ’24 Zachary Hindle ’24 Harrison O’Connor ’25 Fiona Riley ’24 Sam Spiegel ’24 Vinh Jerry Vo ’24 Bonnie Zachary ’24

Faculty Sponsor

Mr. Simon Hunt

Patchwork gratefully acknowledges the support of: Mr. Jon Ashley, Ms. Sarah Catlin, Ms. Deb Gardner, Mr. Christian Housh, Ms. Xiaofen Qiao, Ms. Jen Viana, and the Cushing English Department.

“Better Days” by Adriano Baussan ’23

Table of Contents 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 24

The Lioness | Lauren Walsh ’24 Stronger Now| Bonnie Zachary ’24 Who Am I... | Vinh Jerry Vo ’24 The Mirror | Evan Wingard ’24 Living | Bruna Ferrari ’23 A Man I Never Knew | Jonathan Bundy ’24 Feathered Grief | Miranda Fraser ’24 Don’t Lie to Me | Bruna Ferrari ’23 Six Word Stories | Various What Does It Mean to Confess Something?| Sara Moeller ’23 Sonnet | Nathan Bledsoe ’23 The Truth Is | Lauren Walsh ’24 Planetary Alignment | Riley Cohan ’24 Progress in Solitude | Skyla Grenier ’23 Don’t Come Back | Yenae Gebru ’23 Routine | Xiangyu Sophia Kong ’26 Wishful Thinking | Kindler McLaughlin ’23 Cor de Chocolate | Bruna Ferrari ’23 I Wish I Could Forget | Lauren Walsh ’24

1

The Lioness

You were strong as you dinned You swayed to the beat of the wind As you carefully placed each step you walked As you stalked Confidently capturing the prey in your sight You brought them to me by right With every feat You laid them before my feet With those dazzling emerald eyes Laced with goodbyes I saw the possession of a queen Focused on her preen A lioness Proud and fearless Until the very end Now you lie in those mighty grounds you once traveled Winding up the things that have unraveled You may rest and transcend Lay your head and dream of your land A land so grand Over which you reigned supreme of In which innocence fell like a white dove Fearless warrior, you may drop your spear I will always love you dear

2

Lauren Walsh ’24

Stronger Now

(After Langston Hughes)

Bonnie Zachary ’24

We fight stronger now When life was being lived They entered our home seeking help From the deadly winter season.

When help was given We let our guard down Expecting an alliance…

Instead, they entered our home Kicking us out and claiming it to be their own.

We fight, they win.

Instead, they give us disease in the form of gifts.

We fight, they win.

Instead, they raid our reserves Take our children, strip them of our culture, Abuse them, and call it school.

We fight, they win.

They are displeased by the red in our skin, With the length of our braids.

It fills them with violence.

They seek to extinguish the problem they see, But We live today We live tomorrow We Fight Stronger Now

3

Who Am I...

(after Walt Whitman)

Vinh Jerry Vo ’24

Who am I? What I say, you believe.

What I seek is as truthful as what you seek.

A born Vietnamese who loafs in the language English, A Vietnamese who wants to be … American-nese?

Submerge my mind with another, culture like mine vanishes.

Standing with people, looks I’ve never seen before, Tall, big, blond brunette, big blue brown eyes, double lids, looks I have never seen.

Short, small, black straight hair, dark eyes, my people, my family, the origin of all of me.

Speaking the language as native, rising for the American diploma.

What am I? A full-Viet discarding identity as an American wannabe?

Have you reckon’d eight thousand miles much? Have you reckon’d the depth of our minds much, our nation mother-tongue language much?

Born Viet, my parents born Viet, my siblings born Viet, Form’d from the soil of Vietnam, surrounded by my people.

The atmosphere is odorless, with a tint of the smokiness from pollution, I am mad to taste my home.

I hear talks, from left to right, front to back, the talk of me, my start and my death, But I do not talk about my beginning nor when I will rest.

Am I bound by my tongue, nation or my breath, Or by what I believe in, or allowed to choose what to do with my life, following the feeling in my chest?

Who am I…

4

The Mirror

Evan Wingard ’24

As I look into this mirror I can’t unsee the truth The scars of my past The darkness that hides in my future As I look into this mirror I relive the demons in my sleep They stand behind me waiting Watching all the mistakes I make As I look into this mirror I find this miserable future Maybe it might not be so bad Looking at the inexorable in the reflection As I look away from this mirror I see a world of color A world where I try to fit in A world where beautiful colors hide darkness As I look back into this mirror I come to terms with my fate To watch this darkness swallow me whole Because the mirror shows what the world hides As I look into this mirror one last time The darkness has overtaken me No turning back, and never a future Away I go to never see what the mirror reflects again

5

Living

Young to know about life Old to ask some whys Strength to take my fights Hope I never cease to try Hard to say goodbye Understanding the price of time Even happy we still cry After a long week, party all night A hundred thoughts in our minds New relationships, a little shy In the bleachers, girls and guys One more love song, a hundred lies A school band brings us to the sky Just today, you are mine Someone asked about the price Some things in life we can’t buy Summer memories make me sigh In the hot sun we start to fry I just stopped and realized What makes me feel alive

6

Bruna Ferrari ’23

A Man I Never Knew

Jonathan Bundy ’24

Since life came through passing by I couldn’t stop to wave goodbye For the one that loved me stood so still As I was taken under the hill I woke again too soon from sleep A man from under slowly creeped A man I couldn’t know till now A man who promised to take thou Although I felt this wasn’t time Death assured there was no crime And although I am alone today There is one man that’s here to stay

Chaemin Lee ’25 7

Feathered Grief

(after Emily Dickinson)

Miranda Fraser ’24

A bird flew out my cabinet When I opened it–searching for a dish On top a shattered bowl– Our torn written vows of love lay Boring eyes into the broken china–and they stared back The bird continued to caw– And thrash around my abandoned kitchen

Sara Moeller ’23

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Jack Todey ’23

9

Don’t Lie to Me

Bruna Ferrari ’23

Don’t lie to me Do you really hate that sweater Or you just don’t know what it is to freeze at zero degrees?

Do you really hate your house Or you just don’t know what it is to live in the streets?

Do you really hate your mom Or you just don’t know what it is to not have anyone to hug you before sleep?

Don’t lie to me Do you really hate your school Or you just don’t know what it is to not have someone to teach?

Do you really hate that food Or you just don’t know what it is not to have anything to eat?

Do you really hate your brother Or have you just have been far away from him?

Don’t lie to me Do you really hate your nose Or you just don’t know how it is not being able to breathe?

Do you really hate your glasses Or you just don’t know what it is to spend a life without seeing?

Do you really hate the books Or you just don’t remember when you didn’t know how to read?

Don’t lie to me Do you really hate the children noise Or you just don’t remember how it is to be a kid?

Do you really hate the sun Or you just have never been to the sea?

Do you really hate that song Or you just don’t know what it is not to hear?

Don’t lie to me Do you really hate that person Or you just don’t know how to live in peace ?

Do you really hate the flu Or you just never received the news that you have a short period to live? Do you really hate your family Or you just don’t know the feeling of arriving at home and not being received?

10

Don’t lie to me Do you really hate love Or you just don’t know how the feeling of being truly loved is ?

Do you really hate the future Or you just don’t know how it is going to be?

Do you really hate people who lie Or you just know exactly how it is to be like this?

If you want to lie, don’t lie to me.

Never lie to yourself It doesn’t matter who you want to be Before opening your mouth Think about what is good Some people dream to live your life Be nice and don’t be rude.

If you really want to lie, don’t lie to me Never lie to yourself Tough times everyone has You were born to succeed You were born for a reason Fight our battles on our knees It is the only way to fight for freedom.

Yue Molly Wang ’23 11

Six word stories

In the autumn of 2022, Patchwork sponsored its most popular writing event yet: the 6-word story contest. Dozens of penguins submitted their best attempts to tell a complete story in this deceptively-difficult form. How can you tell a complete story – with a beginning, middle, and end – when you have only six words to work with? We present here some of the most compelling responses to that challenge.

I find myself, awake, since yesterday.

–Shenhao Johnson Jiang ’23 The war is over, isn’t it?

–Seoyeon Sue Kim ’23 What’s your return policy on flowers?

–Nate Kwiecinski ’24 The doorbell rings–food? mail? Soldiers.

–Davis Ross ’23 Sorry again. Happy Birthday. Lvu --Dad –Jiayi Jenny Wang ’23 You were mine, for a while.

–Max Wretsell ’23 Farmers spy, Foxes nigh, Henhouse cry.

–Mr. David Stone Come. Trace my veins. Extinguish Night.

–Mx. Logan Cody

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World is small until it breaks.

–Jingqi John Zhang ’23 Pizza was great, but tasted funn–Matthew Heim ’24 Nature’s gentle kiss turned courageously raw.

–Rachel Adegoke ’24 Are you what you portray everyday?

–Marvin Musiime-Kamali ’23 Coffee spilled, on his boss’s shirt.

–Linas Dedinas ’23 Relentless hunt, animal instinct: human blood.

–Liam Eberhardt ’23 He moved in; she left broken.

–Zach Rizzo ’23 Married–two kids, but two houses.

–Henry Stewart ’24 Smoking engine outside, dead silence inside.

–Ziyi Roy Yan ’23 A bloody arrow; victory and defeat.

–Mr. Kurt Kublbeck Birth… Life. Love, regret. Death.

Birth…

–Diego Pastor Jin ’24 Are you alive?

Yes. You? No. –Ace Asadoorian ’23

13

What Does It Mean to Confess Something?

Sara Moeller ’23

Does a statement have to be secretive for it to be considered a confession?

Or embarrassing?

How about problematic? Or disgraceful?

Here, let me try.

I confess that my mom is my best friend.

Too lighthearted.

Or I confess that I’m a bad person sometimes.

But I guess everyone kinda is to an extent. That’s why we all apologize so much.

Maybe even I confess that I worry about my appearance too much. So much in fact that the stress I feel from it surmounts any stress I’ve ever felt from the past.

That could be the cause of the knots in my upper back, now that I think about it.

Here’s the last confession I’ll make for right now.

I confess that I’m writing this the last night before its due date, and have no real reason to be doing so besides trying to rid myself of the stress I’m feeling at this very moment as I type the word “moment”. I have no real reason to be writing this besides the fact that I want an excuse not to answer my texts, or pick up the phone, or write that email, or make those phone calls, or study for Bio, or read for English, or make direct eye contact with anyone.

And I also can confess that it’s kind of working, at least to an extent.

And I can also confess that my previous confession probably confessed a bit too much.

Is that a confession?

A statement that rips away the walls of privacy. Or is the result of an overload of emotions. Maybe it’s the body’s moment of realization that a secret has been kept secret for too long. Who knows?

Anyways, these are my confessions for the day.

At least I think they are.

14

Sonnet

Nathan Bledsoe ’23

An honest man perturbed by false and fake His glasses fogged by what he thought was right Applause given to lost men far from light To compromise morals he mustn’t partake Be real, rather than gouged at the world’s stake Guised jealousy and lies, they prod with might As shame and beguilement consume his plight And leave him wondering when he will break; So lonesome peace he seeks to ease his angst The remedy away from any crowd He searches for the godliness of old In spots the world will never sink its fangs Now finally the life he has, he’s proud A lowly book his eyes see bright as gold.

Monisha Chowdary ’23

15

The Truth Is

Sometimes I don’t raise my hand or take a stance I hang my head Or echo an empty glance Instead I feel the disappointment Of a thousand eyes A constant spectacle for their enjoyment I am nothing they surmise I believe my scars tell a story Whispering tales Of fallen glory And silent wails My confidence is unbending Yet to myself I am constantly contending With life itself I hate the truth It always leaves a dull pain Like an ache in the tooth Or a teaser for the brain Lying is controlled Providing protection From all who withhold And curse my reflection

16

Lauren Walsh ’24

Planetary Alignment

Riley Cohan ’24

We were not too different from the sun and moon.

You shine bright and bring light with you into every room, Burning with positivity that’s so infectious you can’t help but smile.

I cool the temper of the room, But people confide and find comfort in my presence.

You could never stay up late, so I would.

That’s the unfortunate thing.

We loved each other like the moon and the sun.

In order for one of us to shine, the other has to disappear.

We loved like a solar eclipse, Shining together, But disappearing in mere hours.

You’re the sun, Meant to shine and bring light to earth and all the other planets.

I always was a night owl.

But you’ll see a glimpse of me in the lunar eclipse, Hidden behind the earth.

Shining from her shadow.

17

Progress in Solitude

Skyla Grenier ’23

no one ever has the epiphany of who they are as a person until some sort of heart break although the end of any relationship seems like the end of it all no one ever talks about the distance between family and friends these people are supposed to be your support system to be the blood pumping through your heart to be there for you but instead most of the time they victimize themselves you end up feeling alone at first this feeling is overwhelming and scary it glooms over you the same way a dark shadow of a cloud would it feels like you’re walking around with a constant parade of clowns following you over time though you just sit with this feeling and it starts to become less prominent you soon realize how the only constant thing in your life is you this thing that once left you immobilized is the only thing powering you giving you that fuel, that gasoline to live this feeling soon turns from something so appalling, so spine chilling to a sense of empowerment feelings prey on those who are weak at any given moment being with the discomfort and realizing these feelings are fraudulent is how someone can gain strength and find themself

18

Don’t Come Back

Yenae Gebru ’23

it breaks me every time you walk away it’s almost every other day you decide you no longer want to stay i’m driving myself insane wondering why you can’t explain why i’m not enough because I don’t know how much longer I can act tough your doubts and confusion make your love feel like a delusion so before you come back and try to make me act as if we’re okay please stop trying to play with my heart because every time you leave it breaks more and more apart

Austin Herrera ’23 19

Routine

Xiangyu Sophia Kong ’26

The soft scent of roses tickles your nose, while you relax in a nice, warm bath. A relaxing nocturne soothes your ears, as you nurse a glass of tart cherry juice. When the nocturne reaches its end, you submerge your head in the bath, the bubbles you breathe tickling your face. When you’ve almost run out of air, you resurface, ready to see what else your playlist has to offer. You click next, hoping for another one of Chopin’s nocturnes, when a shrill, high note splinters your peaceful state. You clutch at your head, dropping your glass in shock. The cherry juice splatters on the floor.

The sound of the shattering glass fuses with that of the sharp note, twisting into the piercing wail of an alarm, as spots of black engulf your vision. The keening of your cursed phone drags you back into reality. You blink your eyes open and are greeted by the bland colors of your bedroom, a faint glow already reaching you from the window. Reluctantly rubbing the sleep from your eyes, you consider hitting the snooze button, not ready to face another dreary day at work.

Yue Molly Wang ’23 20

Wishful Thinking

Kindler McLaughlin ’23

I want the teeth of the world to tear through the heavens, Submerging me in fallen angels who have forgotten the use of their wings, Leaving man to swim in a sea of the divine, But upon their fall waves of wings spread and spread blotting out the sun, Leaving gods forgotten children to drown in the shade, But as I sink I see an angel bathed in gold and birthed in light, Her beauty burns so bright it sets the seas on fire, My eyes melt Leaving me blind in a never ending abyss, But as I stare into the darkness her light silences my screams

21

Cor de Chocolate

O olho é quem vê tudo Cor de chocolate Doce como mel E suave como veludo Marrom da terra Igualzinho barro Uma maré de um rio cheio Nem sempre tão movimentado Às vezes sem palavras O olhar é quem diz tudo Cabeca no futuro Às vezes correm algumas lágrimas Ah que triste seria Ver o brilho ir embora Tudo, a esperança e mais um pouco Aos poucos desapareceria Cabelos e olhos da cor das montanhas Em um cachos e no outro ondas Um pouco de alegria junto com lembranças As vezes ela não acha que está pronta Se um dia conseguir olhar de perto Vai entender o que passa lá dentro Cicatrizes e a leveza da juventude Decidida mas as vezes no chute Se um dia quiser a compreender Olhe dentro daqueles lindos olhos Vão te dizer o que precisa saber E vai aprender o que é amar e viver Quando se quebra se junta Às vezes o rímel disfarça Mas aquela sensação não passa e nao muda Lá dentro, bem no fundo ela sabe que é linda A pureza da vida Talvez a coisa mais bela Que um dia você vai ver Mas só se conseguir olhar lá dentro O sorriso mostra aquela linda beleza O movimento do cabelo dá um toque especial O nariz já foi uma insegurança Mas aqueles olhos, Ah aqueles olhos, transmitem esperança Se um dia tiver a sorte de olhar lá dentro 22

Bruna Ferrari ’23

Aproveite, você tem seu charme Talvez você perceba que com o sol De fora pra dentro fica um pouco mais claro que chocolate Sonhos, caminhos, espaços Guardados dentro do peito Refletidos nos olhos Com sete cadeados Nao entra no jogo sem confiança Quem nao deve nao teme A vida é a inocência de uma criança Ou uma torta de limão com sorvete de creme O dia que esses olhos se direcionarem aos seus Vai ver o que nunca viu antes Algo que ficou guardado por anos Aproveite sua chance Sabe como é ne Querer não é poder Decifrar é pra alguém Que eu acho que é você

Xiangyu Sophia Kong ’26 23

I Wish I Could Forget

I wish I could forget the late-night grocery runs I wish I could forget how you make cheesy puns I wish I could forget how you make my heart quicken I wish I could forget your tone And how well you spice chicken I wish I could forget how you look in jeans I wish I could forget your little superhero figurines I wish I could forget the pain in your eyes I wish I could forget your laugh And your many, many lies I wish I could forget your stupid smile I wish I could forget how you could be so vile I wish I could forget that you never call I wish I could forget that night And how you make me feel so small I wish I could forget the sound of your goodbye I wish I could forget how I wanted to die I wish I could forget the love you squish I wish I could forget how hard you made me fall And if I had one wish I’d wish, to forget it all

24

Lauren Walsh ’24

39 School Street, Ashburnham MA 01430 www.cushing.org

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