love
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the first thing I noticed this morning was how mom’s potted plants on our windowsill opened to the sun. then it was the way the light was touching the sky. and then how the street sweepers broke the silence with their heavy metal song. sometimes nothing makes a noise. abuelita says that in a silence…
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riding home on the subway tonight, the stars appeared late, as if delayed — each with that familiar look. you know, the look, like they’d been caught in traffic, rushing to the sky, just in time for me to glance up from my book. and in that instant, I remembered every happiness I had ever…
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I have developed a habit of sneaking out at night to the apartment rooftop. it’s kind of surreal to crawl up there right to the edge and hover above Brooklyn. I can spot the schoolyard in the dark, and the dollar tree store, our laundromat and the local diner, all blending into a swirl of…
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when Teresa of Ávila, a Spanish mystic, was asked what she did in prayer, she replied, “I just allow myself to be loved.” that’s how I feel about the person I wrote this song about. here’s Winona. we all know someone like her — she’s offbeat, loves to stir things up, and might even have…
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I like visiting the cemetery. Green-Wood is the famous one in town. it is filled with grassy slopes, walking trails, fountains and ponds. Holy Cross is the one I go to most often. most days, it’s difficult for me to consider my course through the world. but when I’m there, imagining people’s lives from the…
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my dad died before I was born. I can say I know him better now than I did when he was alive. there are photographs. some of his clothes and shoes are still in my mom’s bedroom closet. we have his bottle of aftershave and little things he collected, like old metro and transit tokens…
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the rest of America sits on porches, but in summertime in New York City people sit on stoops. they’re front-row seats on life here. the city-version of the old-time rocking chair. it’s where you people-watch, and hear stories, gossip, and some good rumors. we don’t have stoops where I live but other sections of Brooklyn…
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I don’t know why other people make songs. I just want to show you how my life feels. here are my first 11. I recorded all of them in my room at home last year. this is the order in which I imagined the songs would be heard. I hope you will click through some…
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one of my favorite things about living in New York City is if you hop the right train (or the wrong train, even better) you can end up in another part of the world. the air carries different languages and odors, depending on which side of town you’re on. the Afro-Caribbean storefronts in Bed-Stuy display…
cookie nieves 