24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
Stacey has always been a wisher, a dreamer, a poet... although she has had but short bursts of precious time to write in the last few years. She teaches at a Waldorf inspired Charter school in Central Wisconsin. When teaching through the core principles of Waldorf students are immersed in all aspects of art. Teachers also loop with their students which means she had has the same group of kiddos since they were first graders and they will all now be 8th graders this fall, almost time to let them go! But they have had an amazing journey! When not guiding children's hearts and minds, Stacey is the mother of five grown daughters and Meme to 10 wretched grandchildren that she adores! She has been with her partner, David, for ten years. They were middle school sweethearts that found the broken road back to each other after 20 some years!
Stately Waltz
Lively Polka
Respectable Fox Trot
Tantalizing Tango
Samba, Swing
Jitterbug, Charleston
Graceful Ballet
Do a little two step
Moon walk across the floor
Breakdance, Flashdance
Twist the night away
Boot Scoot
Soft Shoe
Tap-tap-tap
Trip the light Fandango
Cha-cha, Slide, Shuffle
Bump and Grind
Let the music move you
Put your hand in mine
May I have this dance?
Roosevelt dimes
Wheat pennies
One gold piece from the Four Queens
Chanel #5 scented letters never sent
A 22-short bullet from an unknown pistol
Faded photographs of fake smiles
Postcards across land and time
Bright costume jewelry
Hairpins
Lipstick and rogue
Love, loss, hope, regret
Packed away in Grandma’s chest
How much strength does it take to become invisible?
To blend into tacky wallpaper and stale conversation?
To be consumed by the deafening silence that seeps into every molecule, every atom, the very nucleus of your existence?
How much energy does it take to scream into a crowded room where no one looks up or bats an eye?
I saw Chicago and Mr. Cellophane became my anthem
I wrapped myself in Reynold’s wrap until I suffocated my own voice
How much force do you need to generate to have someone walk right through you?
You see, to me ghosts are merely memories, stuck on replay
Over and over and over
Trying to get it right
To walk through me makes me a ghost
Am I a memory? Am I stuck on repeat?
How hard do you need to push a needle to unskip a record?
I don’t like the soundtrack of my life
Fast forward-fast forward-fast forward
Until it is all a blur
Until I am invisible
Until I am closed into your mind like a whisper, a dream that my have been a memory but now you’ve forgotten
Whether I am dream or reality
Don’t worry, I have the same problem all the time
Blackbird, dark, ancient muse
Singing the song my soul has forgotten
In the still twilight
The graves of the things I’ve buried away
Dead things I’ve hidden away
Of these you sing, my faithful friend
Night-mares turned to lullabies
Take these melodies of misery
These hymns of hurt
Broken pieces in 3/4 time
Wings clipped to haunting arias
And mend them all
Learn to sing a new song
To make me whole so I may
Fly away with you
Love, that swells the heart to the point of bursting, yet never breaks, only fills
Trust, both given and received, knowing a person’s heart as closely as your own
Hope, that radiates intentions of a better tomorrow, that the next generation will do better than the last
Faith, that something exists beyond this realm, we are not alone
Peace, balance, wholeness, everything is as it should be
How foolish I have been to have charged blindly into the fray
A world too cruel, too sharp for innocent girls’ eyes
Stumbling through things not meant for me
Fleeing a place I no longer wished to be
How has this world twisted me, bent me, made me what it wished me to be
Pulled and turned, leaving nothing but a dangling fray
Wishing I did not have these eyes
Wanting to be blind to what they’ve done to me
How is it possible that I no longer know how to be me?
Wanting to please, just be who I’m supposed to be
I’ve acted the part so long my soul is only that fray
I’ve adjusted my sight to the illusion, mirages before my eyes
I still look back on that day when I rushed away with tears in my eyes
I wonder how I could’ve let this happen to me
When there is so much more I could be
As I rebraid the fray
Hello everyone,
Just a quick note to introduce myself. I am a Waldorf teacher from Wisconsin, USA. As a Waldorf teacher, I loop with my class first through eighth grade, which makes my class more of a family really. We are currently heading into seventh grade, the time has gone by so fast! It will be hard to let them go after eight years!
I am the mother to five wretched daughters that are strong, independent, and being the best women they can be! I am currently awaiting the birth of my tenth grandchild, a girl, which will make the count 5 girls and 5 boys.
I live with my partner David. We were middle school sweethearts who found our way back to each other over 20 years later and have been together 9 years now!
I love to write! I always have! The blank page is an adventure for me and we have gone many places together! This is my second marathon, the first being around six years ago. I’m excited for today and blessings to everyone!
Stacey