To Seniors 2024, From Seniors 2026

We welcome November with a gentle breeze, slightly cooler than summer. The pressure of college admissions becomes lighter too, and we can handle ourselves with more ease —navigating through life with a sense of hope. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind overpowers the sails, and our boat broaches, losing steering control. That’s when we surrender.

Surrender does not mean resignation. With a transcendental perspective, surrender means trust. We learn to trust our instincts, our people. We learn to trust God. We allow God to take control of the steering wheel so we can recover and adjust the sails once again.

Never alone, always with God.

AP Lit poets visited the Jesuit Garden to muse about the wonders of nature surrounding us every step of the way. Mother Nature takes us away, strengthening our faith to find healing. In the end, we bow our heads to God and surrender to His will.

In loving memory of Fabián Alejandro Aponte Gómez (CSI 2024)

“Feel” by Iroel González Rodríguez

Black and white is all to see;

Besides from malleable rock,

That seems to morph to a sea

Of the intangible fulfillment of lifetime luck,

The experience of the first and last time.

For the last time... twisted convoluted entities

Push incessantly, control uncontrollably, space

Whose people have seen and will soon mouth:

"I don’t like it, I don’t understand it," or

"I wish I could’ve sooner found out!"

In which none would be wrong to argue for.

They even said it exists but it’s abstract.

When understanding its true nature, its true colors, 

it’s not to comprehend but to feel.

“Take Thy Last Breath” by Francisco Medina Casellas

Take thy last breath, embrace the night,

Let memories fade in gentle light.

Let go, let go, and softly fall,

To slumber’s peace that waits for all.

Though incomplete, some men still fight,

Refuse the dark, pursue the light.

Their actions small, their names unsaid,

Take thy last breath and rest the dead.

Evil men who craved for more,

Found empty hearts at death’s cold door.

Let go, let go, and cease the strife,

Enter the sleep that ends all life.

Wild men who never saw their way,

Chased fleeting joy by night and day.

Take thy last breath; your race is run.

Life’s fleeting spark is nearly done.

Grave men near death with blinding sight,

See truth within the fading light.

Blind eyes still blaze like stars that weep.

Let go, let go, and fall to sleep.

And you, dear reader, hear this plea,

Live life with love and dignity.

Take thy last breath when time is through,

Let go, let go —the night calls you.

"Oasis" by Juan Pablo Jiménez Blanco

In the hourglass,

The sands of time rain down. 

In this barren desert, the king of solitude rambles on, 

Looking for a path. He does not know where to go, 

Or remember where he came from. 

He feels empty as this plain, white, great desert,

And fails to acknowledge the talents and good people

that made him king.

You who wanders, roams, walks, loops, and rambles on

in the desert,

Can you not see that finding a path

Starts with finding yourself?

It is an arduous task, no doubt,

But once you do this, you will see

That this desert shall turn into an oasis, 

Full of life and color

And roam, you will need no more.

“Sonnet” —Anonymous

I walked inside a garden still and bright

Where the sunlight touched the benches, audacious and fair;

The fountain’s voice was gentle in its flight,

It drops like prayers that drifted through the air.

A cross stood tall, yet weathered by the rain,

Its shadow stretched across the quiet ground;

No throne of Kings, no monument of gain,

Just peace and faith were all could be found.

The Bonsai trees bloomed like flames against the stone,

Their fragrance strong through petals soon would fall;

And statues, cracked with time, still stood, alone

Their watchful eyes kept guarding over all.

Though empire fade and power slips away,

This garden holds peace that will not sway.

“Villanelle” by Héctor Mayol

Even though we will eventually fall,

To live this life with deep devotion,

We must live like we don’t live at all.

Like a builder who works to build a tower tall,

Working every day on his construction,

Even though we will eventually fall.

Like a builder who goes beyond the first wall,

Wanting to build atop the ocean,

We must live like we don’t live at all.

Like a builder who answers any call,

Ready to work anytime for a promotion,

Even though we will eventually fall.

To those who fight against life’s withdrawals,

Fight to continue your motion.

Even though we will eventually fall,

We must live like we don’t live at all.

“Thunderous Solace, Notional Lightning, 23” by Andrews Done

My notional light through a thunderous mirror, its gaze

averted, unseen yet negative;

The exclusion sparked by a system in self-destruction

drives its hopeful naivety;

My torrid landscape, its urban design lives in plans and

blueprints;

Its technical construction carved in pens in stone; yet, its

compass shifts as

It's invigorated, driven by the floating feeling, rebelling

within its "responsability";

Now meticulous and technical and calculated towards

this, it approaches a verdict on its purpose;

In succinct simplicity, I lie yet still longing, though don't it

accept no more

You're the law, the Spanish, the "Sol", and its vibrant

language of life; you shine as

The humorous, oblivious idiom, that breathes life and to

which living corresponds;

Cast away vitriol, contempt, and disdain; rip apart my

checklist, ease all apprehension;

You the impassioned, island amidst the storms, forest

enrichening the architecture and design;

Through the notional light, vanish the thunder, quell the

solace,

The evident grandiosity of your soul is inalienable.

Yet I move so you become real, the tangible attributes of

your splendor;

Not lightning from a window; now let me feel the voltage,

Absorb the passion, instill the discipline, share your joy,

Take part in your play, become an ace in your deck; as you

are in mine.

In succinct simplicity, you the yet unknown, you the yet

still a concept, though not for long

“A Tranquil Garden” by Fernando Castelló Busquets

A tranquil garden waited,

Its palm slanting patient,

Their fronds opening slowly green against the blue sky,

Casting long shadows outward

Line upon line of quiet notion,

Whispering into the air.

And you, my wandering soul,

So restless within the stillness.

You too reach out unseen

With questions and yearning.

Searching for the branch, the breath,

The breeze that will hold you steady

A place where you may rest at last among the palms.

“Garden Full of Life” by Fernando Gaztambide Blanco

A quiet Jesuit Garden,

I noticed the benches under the tree,

The slow sound of water spilling from the sky,

The vines slowly climbing on the walls,

And the sunlight resting across the stone.

And you, my searching soul,

Standing apart, curious, uncertain,

Reaching out for answers in the quiet,

Sending thought after thought into the open air,

Hoping one might come my way,

Hoping one will hold on.

“My Yellow Rose” by Daniel Arroyo

The black shadow sits still at the trouble of other;

My trouble.

It takes, relieves, disbalances my soul

Not for fruitful, but absorbing endeavor

In solitude or friendship, a rip in my cloth,

A strong wind in the planes.

My pain

Are you Michael, carrier of the Spear?

Are you the light wielder, renouncer of the right?

Are you my queen, Mary? The shadowed chose you

In name of that wicked and reddened hand.

A wonder among women

Was lost.

A yellow rose now rests below the earth,

Above your bed.

“Beneficial Discomfort”

by Francisco Ferré

Step out of your bubble,

Explore where your heart takes you;

Do not confine yourself to comfort.

Though change may feel as trouble,

The unfamiliar offers wisdom.

Step out of your bubble.

Our minds grow as cultures to connection they resort,

Perspective broadens the higher you go;

Do not confine yourself to comfort.

Through journeys our hearts remain humble,

Differences expand our points of view:

Step out of your bubble.

Trials will test your strength and resolve,

They reveal strengths one can’t see within:

Do not confine yourself to comfort.

To all my fellow classmates, on our final stretch,

Ignacianos, the future calls you:

Step out of your bubble.

Do not confine yourself to comfort.

“The Swimmer” —Anonymous

The boy swam to escape his worries;

He submerged then came back up for air.

He did this repeatedly,

savoring every breath of fresh air.

Underwater, the sound was deafened,

his vision blurry, 

but his problems gone.

Caught between a world of hurry

and a world of silence, 

our hero came back to the surface, 

always keeping a smile on his face.

“Time” by Antolín Velasco Mirandés

Oh, a noiseless patient kid,

I know what it feels like to grow older.

Trust in the process and, don't waste

Time pondering, it may go wrong.

Once in a while stop— and really, 

Stop thinking on and on, time, time,

Time, time, time.

And you, O my soul, where you stand

Surrounded, detached, nostalgic, in an endless hole,

Wanting to turn back, time, time, time,

Later realizing, everything happened while you,

Were, thinking, timing when the time was right.

“A Quiet Jesuit Garden” by Javier Lugo Molinari

A quiet, patient garden,

I stood among the stone paths and the arches,

watching the trees lift their green arms towards the sky.

The silence broken only by a bird’s sudden hymn,

and I felt the roots beneath me,

stretching, unseen, into the earth’s dark depth.

And you, my searching soul,

you too stand in this cloister of stillness,

casting your questions outward, thread after thread,

hoping to bind yourself to something eternal,

to anchor among wisdom, to rest in the breath of God,

to find —at last—

a place where silence speaks.

“Do Not Forget the Garden’s Quiet Light” by Alan Smythe Sánchez

Do not forget the garden’s quiet light,

Though day will fade and shadows start to fall,

Hold on to peace that keeps the heart so bright.

The trees still grow against the coming night,

Their roots stand firm beside the chapel wall.

Do not forget the garden’s quiet light.

The flowers shine, their colors bold and ore,

They rise with hope though winds may come.

Hold on to peace that keeps the heart so bright.

The birds still sing before they take to flight,

Their songs remind us God is near us all.

Do not forget the garden’s quiet light.

And when the world turns dark and loses sight,

This place will heal, this space will still recall:

Do not forget the garden’s quiet light,

Hold on to peace that keeps the heart so bright.

“Into The Unknown” by Orvil Martínez

I step, mind blown.

There I sit, at a circle table, rounded,

Rounded by friends of my own.

You ask me what my verse will be?

I say, about those around me.

Into the unknown,

My mind continues to grow.

Noise, time, and phone,

None of these reach this shore.

You ask me what my verse will be?

I say, about the silent sea.

Into the unknown,

Now I walk alone.

Journeying through my wandering spree,

I begin to see

The trees, the green, the bees, and the free.

Free leaves drifting by my shoulders’ sides,

Free thoughts that begin to reside,

Free souls that no longer hide.

You ask me when my verse will be done?

I say, now that I have found free-dom.

“Fall in Love Again and Again” by Noah Vélez

Fall in love again and again.

Every chuckle, every laugh:

The more I fall in love.

The light to my day,

When it has rained.

Fall in love again and again.

My only mission to make it your favorite day,

Yet you make it mine,

The more I fall in love.

All the pressure my hearts hums,

In the comfort of your arms, I find, you make go away.

Fall in love again and again.

And you my precious, on the podium of my heart,

You, after not believing, have made me

Fall in love again and again:

The more I fall in love.

"Find Peace not in the Peaceful" by Ricardo Sánchez

Find peace not in the peaceful,

For there is no pleasure in its counterpart

Amidst the ruckus, an oasis awaits you.

Control your emotions in the hardest of moments.

Find your Jesuit Garden;

Find peace not in the peaceful.

With sounds of crumbling machinery,

Limits will flaunt their knowledge, yet 

Amidst the ruckus, an oasis awaits you.

True peace will find you in the strangest of moments;

It is then when you'll find your true components.

Find peace not in the peaceful. 

Strive for balance,

For then you'll be equal. 

Amidst the ruckus, an oasis awaits you.

Face chaos with grace, hold courage tight,

For calm is born where storms depart.

Find peace not in the peaceful, 

Amidst the ruckus, an oasis awaits you.