A Post and a Poem for @haysalice, My Colleague & Friend Who, Well, Happens to Also Be a WGI Judge

There may be a couple of other readers (hi, Mom! hi, Cynde! hi, Nikki!) who might have interest in this post, but the primary audience is Dr. Alice Hays....actually, it's me processing conversations Alice and I have had (perhaps for NCTE 2022) about fusing research in literacy with storytelling within physical movement. For those who know the winterguard world, this post might make sense, and for those who don't...maybe you'll be intrigued. There's so much history, growth, change, and beauty over the years, and we're simply thinking about how such shows narrate more than equipment work (not sure about implications quite yet, but for now it is simply fascinating to think about and to collect data). 

So, I'm following EthicalELA's #VerseLove poetry prompts and I was especially intrigued by Tuesday's prompt by teacher Margaret Simon. She challenged writers to write a "World Trying to Deal" poem, in which she offers websites to find photographs from the past year to prompt a free-verse poem. As a good student, I looked through the pictures, but I kept hearing music from West Side Story in my head, because Dr. Alice Hays and I had recently shared how Pride of Cincinnati responded to the pandemic. It's not a still photo, but a performance (like a still photo in movement), carrying on the WGI tradition as only they do - expanding the possibilities of artistry and sport in a video to highlight their mastery of the genre. 

Here's the video they released from the past year...their performance. It is, similar to the still photos shared by Margaret Simon, a piece of art that immediately sparked me to say, "Today's poem is for Alice." Well, that was yesterday, but I'm posting today (Dr. Sarah Donovan...like I said, "You have no idea." So thankful for Ethical ELA)(unintended rhyme here). I think poetically, but never find enough time to scribe poetically. The focus of the website has given me the daily challenge. I wake up, sip coffee, and begin to put scissors to the paper snowflake...she what design results.

So, after watching the video, I drafted the following for Alice. I think if you click on the image, the fogginess of the lettering goes away. If not, scroll below and I will post it in Blogger text.

  Because there’s a story here, Alice,

…a place for us…

& I doubt many understand the movement

of how a teacher finesses every dry-erased moment

with toes and fingers just so…

…but hat’s how I picture you, Alice,

somewhere in California

twirling possibilities with your daughters

as you plan another graduate course

Peace and quiet and open air wait for us -

You, tossing language

behind your back,

& artfully leaping 

across another YA novel

  such mindfulness and finesse…

…time together with time to spare…

this repertoire, designed with excellence, 

& equipped with exquisite choreography.

hold my hand and we’re halfway there

That’s the poem, Alice…

this appeal of you

& how you know silk weaves 

such narratives together

with precision,

your colors as weapons

to combat the dreary days of winter.

That’s the story, Alice. The art.

Somehow, someday, somewhere

finding news ways for living…

forgiving the year that just was with this poem.

Happy Humpback Day! You'll find me on screen doing PD for 60+ teachers today!