"My Offstage War"

I sit backstage at BergenPAC.

My headset on, the power in my hand,

at my stage management booth, dressed all in black.

I tell the actors to enter, walk, and stand

on center stage.

The show is running smoothly- I hear laughter

in the audience. I warn the crew it's almost curtain,

but I hear static in my ear "it's caught up on a rafter.

The curtain's stuck." My heart will stop, I am certain,

before the next page.

I can not leave my chair, so I whisper-yell

into my headset, "SOMEONE FIX THIS

BEFORE THE SONG ENDS. I tell

 the spotlight guy to GO,  he moves his

lever to engage.

Look up, there is a man scaling the wall,

hiding in the darkness with a  pole.

He reaches out, barely holding on at all

and knocks the curtain back; the whole

crew is relieved backstage.

The red curtain falls at the end of the act

I take a breather half way through the show.

Something backstage always goes wrong -- and that's a a fact--

but I hope that the audience will never know

the offstage war I wage.

For now I'm at peace.

"Stay Away Stage Fright!"

I love to sing as I walk down the street,
but fear invades my heart when I'm on stage.
I know I am on pitch; I keep the beat
while following the music written on the page.

But it's my senior year- I need to prove to myself that I can be strong.
At Tri-M's induction I decided to fly right up the stage and preform my song.

The night arrived- I sat before the crowd
and waited for my turn to walk into the light.

As it was time to announce my name aloud.
I waited for the upcoming stage fright.

The music started- it was time to overcome fear.
I belted out my song start to end.
And when the audience began to powerfully cheer,
I realized what once was fear was now my friend.



Stage fright gave me the strength to preform well
I will no longer fall under its cruel spell.

"Melody Nicole Kazee"

I love to play with babies

And I’ll have one in the future, maybe

At this time in my life, I will not.

But here I am in class

in the hallway, on the sidewalk, in the grass

outside my house, and I’ve got

this bag of flower.

My teacher gave it so much power.

I would fail if I forgot

to carry her with me down the halls,

to protect her from falls.

In a basket that I brought

with me wherever I was able,

and she sat up on the table

as my sister and I 
baked her sisters into cookies and pies.

"Back to School Blues"

I came back to school to get a break from my vacation.

I feel like I’ve traveled half way across the nation

but I’ve barely left my home town.

It hasn’t been long since I’ve walked down

the halls of my school—I’ve worked here all summer

at a camp with Mrs. Mackey. It’s such a bummer

that I can’t walk through the halls whenever I please

or get a tissue without asking if I’m allowed to sneeze.

Now it is time. Senior year is really here.

I’m getting accustomed to watching the freshman’s fear

 as the walk through the hall.

I’m at the top of the food chain- we used to be small

little freshman too, but that was long ago.

I’ve been here for years. I understand the ebb and flow

of the hallways between classes- I know the janitor’s by name

but I know next year, none of this will be the same.