Audrey Torres and Cyrena Giordano

1
The Field NotebookLiterary Magazine 07

• By
• Audrey Torres and Cyrena Giordano

2
What is Nature Nexus?

• Nature Nexus is a course offered to Seniors that
  explores our
  
• relationship with nature and our responsibility
  to preserve our
  
• planet. A combination of English and Religion,
  students are
  
• encouraged to write prayerful reflections based
  on their
  
• experiences during weekly fieldtrips.
• This is a compilation of creative pieces written
  by this years class.

3
Table of Contents

• Cover
• Description
• Contents
• From the Eyes of a Youngster - Colby Chambers
• Regrets -Audrey Torres
• Owl Canyon, Hunters Point -Cyrena Giordano
• Wave -Same Kustel
• Two Warriors Diverged in a Wood - Chris
  Johnson
  
• San Francisco Morning -Katie Woods
• Now you might think this is crazy but what if
  the american dream really is a nightmare? -Alex
  Trembath
  
• My Friend -Chris Johnson
• Nameless -Martin McDonald
• Tides -DGinero Pulido
• Encounters with the Facts, Golden Gate
  Bridge -Ariana Jarrell
  
• The Mission Bells -Andrew Dudum
• Fire in Fog -Cal Trembath

4
From the Eyes of a Youngster Colby Chambers

• It is perfect.
• My insect pail is perfect, I finally have it how
  I want it.
  
• The bark of the willow tree lies diagonal across
  the pail
  
• The leaves are going to be his bed.
• The needles of the Monterey Pine will be his
  living room
  
• Redwood needles just would not do
• I put in a blackberry in case Charlie gets
  hungry
  
• Yes, Charlie, that is what Ill call him
• The teacher tells me that my bug probably does
  not eat blackberries
  
• What does she know?
• Next thing, she tells me to be careful with the
  hemlock because its poisonous
  
• Well I think Charlie likes hemlock, and there is
  nothing she can do about it
  
• Why is it that the adults always want to tell me
  how his home should be.
  
• Charlies home is perfect he will like it just
  the way it is .
  
• He doesnt need buildings he has everything he
  needs right from Glen Park
  
• Its time to drop him in.
• I avoid the poison oak as I make my way to my
  favorite seat built into the rock
  

5
Regrets by Audrey Torres
Looking out at the ocean that shes seen a thou
sand times it still surprised her that it wasnt
the bright blue of her dreams. It wasnt blue
at all really, more of a dark green-grey. As she
stood in the sand she closed her eyes and
listened to the sounds that make up silence. She
exhaled and felt the gush of air escape from her
body. A gull cried in the distance. The waves
crashing onto the shore had somehow managed to go
from a soothing whisper to a deafening roar.
Opening her eyes and seeing the vast expanse of
water once more, she decided that perhaps the
ocean looked as it should. When your eyes were
closed it was all so different. There was just
the feeling of the cold wind whipping your hair
across your face and the strange sensation of
the sand slipping away from under you. Then there
were the booming sounds that you imagine come
from something that could crush you in a moment
and end everything. She always got an adrenaline
rush and a distinct feeling of fear and wild e
xcitement all rolled into one. She couldnt
remember a time when the ocean
had ever been the bright blue jewel that sparkle
s in the pictures of advertisements. Looking down
at the rocky sand engulfing her feet she noted
that there had also never been a time when it
was golden and soft. It wasnt perfect or ideal
but it was filled with colors like jade and butt
erscotch and crimson, and it was still
beautiful. Taking one last glance at her priva
te sanctuary she turned and started slowly back
towards the road. Although she hadnt found th
e words to say once she returned home she no
longer felt the pang of regret that plagued her
heart so often. Behind her the sun flashed on
the water causing an instant of sparkle, but she
didnt see.
6

• Owl Canyon
• Cyrena Giordano
• Golden, invasive grass crowds around me
• Like the newly built houses around this small
  place
  
• Spotted mushy hills stand further
• Furry green brush scatters across sunbathed
  hills
  
• From afar those hills look simple and plain
• Like the uninvited grass surrounding them
• But really jungles spring from within them,
  thriving
  
• with native treasures
• Cool springs and crawly things
• A butterfly dances on monkey flower
• Ferns arch over lupine and soap root
• Pearly Everlasting and poison oak play around my
  feet.
  
• Dry meadows and soft pedals
• Sedges and rush congregate in bunches
• While oysters bloom between their stalks
• Willows circumfuse these detailed havens

Hunters point Cyrena Giordano Sick, dark, ugl
y land You betray us with your beauty. Your eart
hly soil spits arsenic and zinc Your gentle winds
spew toxins and diesel Your sapphire waters spill
lead and radioactive poison.Life disintegrates in
your destruction. How can you trick us so innocen
tly?
7
Wave by Sam Kustel Deep at sea, trouble is brew
ing Slowly, surely, it forms Growing. Gaining s
peed. Accelerating towards the land No pause f
or small objects, Just washing them away into an
afterthought Large matter is rinsed with spray,
Only leaving behind a trail of white
foam. Nearing land, it slows Searching for a p
lace to rest Rising up. Cresting. It must to cr
ash from this great height And in an instant, i
t is gone Gone is the wave Once again it becomes
part a part of the ocean
8
Through a glass lens Departed from a fluorescent
light Leaned against a rotting trunk Hairs raise
d by the frosty air With a naked eye Hav
ing navigated beams of moonlight
Crouched near a leafy floor
Hairs raised by the frosty air
Walking on two wobbly legs Hands clenched at the
sides The forehead drenched in perspiration Teet
h clenched in anticipation Gliding on four li
mbs Tail tucked in Black lips moistened
with saliva Fangs clenched in anticipation
Brow heightened by anxiety Thigh muscles tensed
Fingers tangled searching for the trigger
Spine straightened and taut Shoulders receded
into the sockets Haunches retracted Paw
s relaxed releasing the claws Spine straighte
ned and taut Trigger pulled and bull
et pierces flesh Haunches fired and
claws pierce flesh The luminescent g
reen eyes The concentrated brown eyes
The losers blood stains the ground And bec
omes the darkness The winner sulks away And
becomes the darkness
Two Warriors Diverged in a Wood By Chris Johnson
9
San Francisco Morning By Katie Woods Ghosts lurk
in this air. Weeping Until tears leak into the
mortal world, Dangling like abandoned spider webs
Whose inhabitants light upon the skin, Their ch
ill, wispy presence almost a lie
Til venom seeps from fang to marrow.
Spirits blot out distant color and form, All un
der the magicians white handkerchief
Dazzling eyes eager for illusion.
They flee as I approach. Or simply vanish
I feel them linger, Frigid fingers tracing my spi
ne. Hear their endless wails and moans In one lo
ng hollow hiss. Jealous, they snatch and snap a
t limbs and fingertips, Scratch at cheeks, nose,
ears, Until my flesh grows cold as theirs In the
searing, choking freeze That dyes lips a drowned
mans blue And draws water from wind-whipped eye
s Life encased in a cadavers form Til the cl
oth is drawn away.
10
now this might sound crazy but what if the
american dream is really a nightmare?
By Alex Trembath not evident here transparently
though, perhaps, a bit contrarily, the worries
and woes of a world thats gone to bed.
and in the night come frightening, though to so
me, or many, delighting, dreams of instant pleasu
re about their heads. and harmony distilled by
patients popping pills, americana solves its tro
ubled shame. they need another fix and think t
hey cant handle this, while those without live h
appily throughout the day. because if you thi
nk your dreams are answers when theyre really th
e disease, youll get us quicker where were head
ed an earth of malls and no more trees.
11
My Friend By Chris Johnson Friend, I am not wo
rthy to know you, But only give me a hug, and I s
hall be healed. So long, I have toiled against th
ee. I bend thee to my will, Ensuring my needs ar
e met. I have done so without concern for your ne
eds, Nor regret for the pain I have caused you.
I have drained you of your life-giving fluids.
I have plucked the sucrose stores from your
sores. I have consumed your living flesh. I have
tainted your living glow. I sincerely hope tha
t when the time comes, That you will fully embrac
e me Despite the times I have forgotten you. I a
wait your recognition of my repentance.
I am at your mercy, my friend.
I pray that you keep my physical being,
And dance with its spiritual counterpart in the
hinterlands.
12
Ive been to a cathedral That men have seldom see
n, With buttressed granite pinnacles Where earth
and sky convene. Ive weathered storms at suns
et there For hours without pause, While lightnin
g danced around my head To thunderous applause.
But when the rain subsided And wind-gusts cease
d to blow, Its towers stood like sentinels Again
st a fading glow. I still can see the colors T
hat filled the sky that night,
The violet golden crimson Of the suns receding l
ight. - Martin McDonald
13
Tides By DGinero Pulido Waves come and go i
n a continuous cycle of ups and downs, positives
and negatives, and happiness and sadness. Like t
he waves, I get closer and closer to my goals but
then I find myself further and further away from
them. My life moves and changes like the water,
going wherever it is pushed to. Tectonic pl
ates shift on opposite directions. They leave old
memories and create new ones, and also shift the
mselves from years of pressure and destruction.
Like the tectonic plates, I get pulled apart. Tw
o distinct lifestyles, traditions, and desires
shift in opposite directions. Millions of years
crammed into months. Foundations shaken by tim
e, pressure, and water are destroyed. Like
foundations, my foundation shakes constantly cau
sing slides where hopes and goals are destroyed.
My family is my foundation, but its constantly
shaking due to consistent arguments. With every
slide a part of me is taken and thrown away.
Life resembles nature in inexplicable ways. Thr
ough nature I have seen my past, present
and predicted my future.
14
Encounters with the Facts Ariana Jarrell We hav
e to get into our heads a concept of limits
Some things must stop or the world will become
repugnant The land wont last and we wont
Were way out of balance with the environment
Yeah, technology! You havent got anything one d
ay with a bulldozer wont cure
The plundering of natural resources
The progressive decline in the quality of life
Its all about limits, but 100 million America
ns are now overweight or obese
Obesity is now the leading cause of preventable
1 in 4 Americans visits a fast food restaurant
each day So we must overcome nature? Heck! We
must overcome ourselves! Quotes are taken
from Encounters with the Archdruid because I t
hought that they are important to think about.
The Golden Gate Bridge Ariana Jarrell Body str
etched over lands end 200ft above treacherous ti
des, Cables suspending between two towers Planks
cast and molded together with cold orange
steel, Rods and arches support the structure.
Evenings darkness contrasts moonlit night
Stars sparkle reflect waters gentle glisten,
Fog begins its migration across lands redorange
connection, Color added to aged black and white p
icture. Mans creation no complete beauty witho
ut natures interaction.
15
The Mission Bells By Andrew Dudum 2006 Droop
ing, dense and heavy, The Mission Bells are sombe
r. Thick caverns of rust hide the moon from the s
ky, But look closer, Deep within the echoing cha
mbers A light is seen, The sun brakes. The fluo
rescent yellow radiates with the future.
The Mission Bells witness all, The caterpillar
and worm, The step, Peoples marks on their worl
d. It is their world. The grandfather of life
Swaying with a confidence, Of a beginning and
end, A confidence of knowledge, Of death, Of fa
ith.
One must envy The man scorching life with his spe
ctacles. Tormenting the worms with his persistent
ease. He knows all, sees all, and yet makes no n
otice of it. Just as the bells at the church, Wi
th their deep brass and beaten shells.
They have seen death this week, But dont say a
word. They know something, Just as he. Confide
nt and quite, Faithful and hopeful. I pray tha
t I too, can know what the Mission Bells know.
Its something, For when lives are shattered and
hope seems desolate They remain quiet, And stead
y, And confident.
16
(No Transcript)
17
Survey
We gave a survey to each student in our class so
you can get a chance to get to know
them better! The original questions are down
below and the next few slides will be some
different answers to those questions.
Whats Your name? Where were you born? Where do
you live? What are some of your interests? How d
id you choose Nature Nexus? How do you like Natur
e Nexus?
What's your name? D'Genaro Pulido
Where were you born? Peru Where do you live?
San Francisco What are some of your interests?
Sports, Art, Painting How did you choose NN? I
though it was easy( make this up Cyrena)
How do you like NN (feel free to describe expiri
ences)? ( make this up aswell)
18
By Cyrena and Audrey
We love nature Nexus!