Issue 29 • December 2019
Home For the Holidays
Thanksgiving
For the pitiful birds
with red crowns,
Which forgot to fly or
Never learned to fly,
Grounded by satisfaction,
Engulfed into the darkness by the
Greasy fingers of my brother
Covered in piles of bones of wings and limbs;
I light the candles of gratitude
For delight and hopes derived from vain–
Sacrifice or murder are
Both dead indeed by
The greedy teeth for
Unappeasable hunger.
For the fire and feathers of
The dark dense ashes,
We hold one another’s hands,
Pray in silence, and
Reflect the days of
The grand voyage
To the lost liberty
Rescued by the warmth of the heretics.
Come on, and let us all silence the past
As the warm dough of the homemade pumpkin pies
Slowly slide through our ears;
We cannot hear or see the dust under
The antique rug passed down from
Distant great-grandfathers
For it is a distant memory
Of faded reality
Of the first heartbeat in the darkness
In the mother’s womb
As God formed a man from dust
Of the ground and breathed
Into his nostrils the breath of life, and
The man became a living being.
Amen.
By Audrey Chung, Brooks School
Letter from the Editor-in-Chief
Dear Readers,
As the year comes to a close, I would like to take some time to reflect on both the past year but also the past decade.
To the Class of 2020, this new decade marks the beginning of a new phase in our lives. As graduation approaches, I think that many of us are thinking about the legacy they are going to leave at our school. With college applications slowly wrapping up, we can turn our focus to taking advantage of those opportunities that are offered at our schools. Go on that hiking trip. Try a ceramics class. Talk to your crush. Go on participate in that activity. Before you know it, the opportunities that our schools offer us won’t be there anymore. Let’s have some fun, we deserve it.
The past decade was filled with many different events. From Gangnam Style becoming one of the most viewed YouTube videos to The Cup song taking over lunchrooms, from the ALS Ice bucket Challenge to the legalization of gay marriage in the USA, the internet has brought to the forefront information. Information and knowledge has never been as readily accessible, and that’s a double edged sword that the up-and-coming generations are navigating. The world is wrought with many different problems that sometimes it can feel as if there is too much to care about. From family separation at the border, climate change, the upcoming election, plastic straws, and censorship in countries like China and India, there are so many things that need our attention. It’s draining. Compassion fatigue is something that we all As the New Year and new decade rounds the corner, take some time to focus your energy on a couple of issues you care about. We can’t focus on everything that is going on in the world, and that’s alright.
In this issue you can find the reflections and hopes of students across the schools. From their definitions of what home means to them to the things they wish they knew earlier this year, this issue contains many heartfelt pieces from students. As we all take some time to spend with both ourselves and the people we choose to call our family, remember that there are always people you can lean on in your life. For some, the holidays aren’t easy. I would like to ask that if you are having a celebratory and joyous holiday to keep in your hearts the people who may be struggling during this holiday season. I think that most of all, throughout both this past year and decade, humanity’s empathy has been tested. But I ask that as we venture into a new decade, we all take some time to check in with the people close to us, but also reach out to the people beyond our family and friends.
Thank you for all of your support over the past years! With your readership and support, we can continue to promote the voices of the people across out schools.
Enjoy,
Grace Li, Milton Academy '20
Editor-in-Chief
The Tavern 2019-2020 Editorial Board
Brooks School: Audrey Chung
Groton School: Claire Lee
Milton Academy: Erinma Onyewuchi
Northfield Mount Hermon: Ayleen Cameron
Phillips Academy Andover: Gayatri Rajan
Phillips Exeter Academy: Emma Reach
St. Mark's School: Katie Park
Tabor Academy: Charlotte Gebhard
St. Andrews: Mia Nguyen