after innocence —2024
About the poems
In the winter of 2023/24 I led writing workshops at the high school our daughter had graduated from just a few years earlier. I wanted to write songs for solo voice and the local chamber orchestra, The Riverside Symphonia, and I hoped the students would help me develop lyrics. We brainstormed song topics, then assembled poems as a large group, line by line, each student contributing a phrase, then passing their poem-in-progress to the person sitting next to them, and so on, and so on. Over the course of three workshops, the students had created over two dozen of these group poems. Afterwards, I edited the poems into lyrics, pruning a word here or there, removing redundant thoughts, reordering lines, sometimes condensing multiple poems into what would become a single song lyric. Our family friend, Norah Clifford (SHRHS class of 2019), gamely contributed her poetic talents, editing together “it’s called perseverance” and “love becomes a habit.” In January of 2024, my family moved from Lambertville to Philadelphia, where I have written these songs as a kind of parting love letter to the sweet community we called home for 20 years.
*Words by
Isaac Adas, Alizandro Aguilar, Georgia Andreoli, Xander Andreoli, Phineas Baker, Cara Bednar, Thomas Breuer, Cahli Brown, Henry Brusca, Gael Cruz-Ortiz, Paul DiBenedetto, Quincy Douglas, Mitchell Ege, Greyson Finnerty, Kellen Finnerty, Emma Fisher, Charlie Fries, Lucas Graiver, Griffin Grushow, Yesenia Guerra, MacKenna Healy, Juneabea Horsnall, Nick Horvath, Seth Hoyer, Jake Hyland, Kyle Ingersoll, Chase Johnson, Christopher Kucsma, Kevin Lucas-Tellez, Luis Martinez, Dylan Matz, Stephen McCloughan, Heber Mendoza, Kyle Milligan, Nicholas Prozeralik, Lucy Reed, Stella Reed, Elsie Scheetz, Maddie Shier, Danella Silagy, Liam Sirak, Jason Top Conde, Logan Williamson, Tobi Zacapala-Lopez, Dorian Zawadzki, Dominik Zawadzki
Special thanks to all the students above for sharing their creativity, and to their teachers, Gabe Stephens and Alex Chan, who helped run the writing workshops in their classes, and without whom this project wouldn’t have happened. In particular, Gabe Stephens invaluably helped brainstorm this project into existence one afternoon over a backyard beverage.
- when i was young
when i was young
when the adults were happy
and the ground was covered in snow
i didn’t have a care in the world
when i was young
when the adults were happy
in the sun being covered in sand
i didn’t have a care in the world
i know i’m clinging to things that once were
wanting to relive certain moments
and not have taken them for granted
when i was young
when the adults were happy
- watching the world
watching the world
like a crack in the ceiling
like a fly on the wall
the overwhelming fear
of everything i see
don’t wanna see it at all
this place is too much
i need to meditate
too much to think about
hand over headset
i need a break
when can i get out?
scrolling
it’s late and i’m still on
hiding
showing i’m okay
hurting
as i watch them drive away
weightless
flying through a blank night sky
isolating
everything moving past me
just want to disappear
walk through a tunnel
fall into a field of flowers
- it’s called perseverance
(ed. Norah Clifford)
It’s called perseverance even when it hurts.
The greatest stories come from the underdog
Embrace the fear
It’s called perseverance even when it hurts.
Looking down from the cliff—
It’s such a long drop
But I’m gonna fight;
and I’m gonna win.
You should enjoy it
while you can.
Yeah, I’m gonna fight;
And I’m gonna win.
It’s called perseverance even when it hurts
Mistakes are okay, they’re how you grow.
I know that in the end, things will be okay.
Back when I was waiting for my time to come –
Never knew it could be so good after –
finally winning after an eternity of losing.
It’s called perseverance even when it hurts.
- the most beautiful person
the most beautiful person
is the one in the mirror
i wish i could see what other people see
i wish i could be that person forever
but, you’re perfect.
don’t change.
loving yourself
doesn’t need to come
from approval from others
loving yourself
the love you have for yourself is the only love
that nobody can take away from you
- Love becomes a habit
(ed. Norah Clifford)
Love becomes a habit
enough to scar for life
this habit is constant
and ongoing, everlasting.
I tried my hardest
to be honest
and let you know
but I knew
you didn’t want me back.
Would it be a sin
if I can’t help falling
in love with you?
My morals, vanished —
only in hope
of a good feeling.
Should I indulge
or spit you out?
None of the above.
if I can’t help falling in love
Love becomes a habit
enough to scar for life
Cut out the bad,
and save the good.
Time passes as I
wait for this wound to heal.
I know they say
it’s not you, it’s me —
but I really thought it was you.
- find a way
time ticks on
moving every day
people you love
won’t always be the same
walls closing in
on all sides
people you love
won’t always stay
pressure builds up
on all sides
let me soar
let me fly
find a way
i can’t stop
i can’t brake
looking down on me
like i’m bait
never feeling
like i belong
it’s always how i’m different
how i’m wrong
pressure builds up
on all sides
let me soar
let me fly
find a way
Embrace the fear
use it
Don’t let fear
use you
pressure builds up
on all sides
let me soar
let me fly
find a way
