Tag: millennium

Found Poem

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com

A couple of years ago, I co-taught a sophomore English class, and we taught the kids how to write Found Poems. For those unfamiliar with them, Found Poems are poems created using lines from other texts and putting them together in a new format. I don’t remember the texts that we had the kids use to create their Found Poems, and I had forgotten that the assignment had inspired me to write my own Found Poem. The other day while cleaning, I found my Found Poem. Mine was not inspired by a great literary work or epic poetry, but by a group a little closer to my heart: The Backstreet Boys. So I present to you for both my own desire to revisit the work and your own amusement, a Found Poem featuring the lyrics of Backstreet Boys songs!

All you people can’t you see, can’t you see/I don’t care as long as you love me/You are my fire, the one desire/Am I sexual? Am I the only one? Am I everything you need?/I need you tonight, I need you right now/I’ll never break your heart, no way no how/My love is all I have to give/And when I look into your Spanish eyes I know the reason why I am alive/I’ll be the one, I’ll be the light/And the world is so beautiful tonight/Baby I can’t help it, we’ve got it goin’ on/Let me show you the shape of my heart.

The following are the songs referenced in the poem: Larger Than Life, As Long As You Love Me, I Want It That Way, Everybody (Backstreet’s Back), I Need You Tonight, I’ll Never Break Your Heart, All I Have To Give, Spanish Eyes, The One, Drowning, We’ve Got It Goin’ On, and Shape of My Heart. These songs appeared on the albums Backstreet Boys, Millennium, Chapter One: The Hits, and Black & Blue.

Whether you find my poem enjoyable or not, I challenge you to write your own Found Poem using a text you love!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Big Little Women

This week I’ve been at the theatre for tech week and performances of Little Women the Musical. My school Drama Club is performing it, and I’ve been helping with costuming. It’s a classic, heartwarming tale that makes you feel the love of family and believe in the ability to make your dreams come true. It has been a joy to be a part of this production not only because of the immense talent of our cast and crew, but also because of the memories it brings back of my high school production of Little Women years ago.

The year was 1999, which I like to think of as the year of the Millennium album, and I had desperately wanted to play Beth because I had red hair like Claire Danes. I wasn’t cast as Beth, but I did play Belle at the ball and help with props. The role was fun to play and the costume was the best as I have a love of 1860s dresses. However, the best part was my best friends – Scarlet and Lily*- were also involved with the show.

Scarlet and I first met when we were 12 because her grandfather worked with my dad. We reconnected in school especially through choir and drama club. As freshman we had both been in the stage version of Awakenings. We enjoyed it so much that when Little Women rolled around the next year, we wanted to participate. We found ourselves involved in the cast, set design/construction, and prop design/construction. We were so involved that we even spent to school during some of our Spring Break and worked on the show! All of our hardwork earned us the Director’s Award for the club that year.

Lily and I first met in middle school and have remained friends since bonding over things like Kentucky basketball namely Scott Padgett, amusement parks, and the Backstreet Boys! Our sophomore year, Lily decided to join us on the tech crew and help with props. I loved having my two best friends work on a show with me! There’s a picture of us standing on the stage – me in my teal dress, Scarlet in her brown dress, and Lily in a shirt and shorts – after one of the performances that I can see perfectly in my mind. I’m not sure where the picture is, but it brings a smile to my face to think about.

We were little women ourselves working on Little Women, and now we’re big women (age wise not size). Each of us are accomplished academically, career, and/or talent wise. We’ve been blessed with new people that have come into our lives and mourned loss together (seriously because between June 2010 and March 2011 we lost five grandparents between the three of us). Today, even though we are separated by distance, we’ve been there for each other for marriages, miscarriage, childbirth, and more (thanks technology)! In some ways we’ve been there for the typical wedding vows: “In sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer.”

Without my little women – Scarlet and Lily -I wouldn’t be who I am today. I’m forever thankful for them. They’ll always be the sisters I never had!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

*Names changed to protect identities.