Dream of Flight

Our eyes open to the dawn, bodies breaking into bright open skies

Our minds clear of all worries, blinking breathless into the dazzling blue 

Our cheeks wet with long-awaited tears, sun shining upon our joy born anew!  

Glory! Glory! Our hearts come home. 

Our voices ascend in a thunderous chorus, spilling splendor across tumultuous seas   

Our thoughts surrendered to a warmth ever-rising, cascading colors in a wondrous promenade 

Our limbs extended in effortless energy, welcoming winds of a mighty cavalcade! 

Glory! Glory! Our hearts come home. 

Our spirits leap in exuberance, dancing delighted in the magnificence of a golden morn

Our hopes blaze brilliant, flowing full in an astonishing dream of flight 

Our souls twine together, soaring spectacular with wings of light! 

                                            Glory! Glory! Our hearts are home.  

Copyright Stacie Eirich, May 3 2021 

***

My final poem for National Poetry Month 2021 was inspired by composer Christopher Tin's epic piece of music, Sogno di Volare. In Italian, this translates to "Dream of Flight." In January and February this year I had the privilege of working with Chris on this piece with over a thousand singers worldwide in The Stay at Home Choir.

On Friday April 30th, our recorded performance of Sogno di Volare premiered in audio form on BBC Three and La Scalia Radio stations and our video performance premiered this past Sunday, May 2nd. I'm enormously proud of being a part of this epic production that is glorious in both sound and visuals! 

You can read my April collection of poems, titled Serenade of Spring, free on Wattpad at this link: Serenade of Spring, a poetry collection by Stacie Eirich

This month, I'll be continuing to write my YA fantasy novella, Song of the Stars, though I've decided to take it offline and write at a slower pace. Thus, I will not be submitting it for the final round of Wattpad's Open Novella contest. I'm grateful for the support I've received and will continue to interact with readers of my poetry and short stories there.

In music news, I have just finished recording a new video project with The Stay at Home Choir and Gareth Malone, and will be working on an audio album with the choir over the summer which will feature classical works. I'll also soon be recording a hymn with The Self Isolation Choir, and a song with the Forget-Me-Not Chorus. Last, I'm looking forward to the upcoming digital Resilience concert for The Washington Chorus on June 11th. Details & ticket link below: 

An artistic journey of perseverance and endurance through music, filmmaking, and poetry. The Washington Chorus, Eugene Rogers, Artistic Director, invites you to "Resilience," their upcoming digital choral program highlighting the power of music and the human spirit. In collaboration with visual artist Camilla Tassi and narrator Shannon Finney, this concert includes a world premiere excerpt from the TWC commissioned work Here's The Thing by Julian Wachner and Rome Prize-winning poet Samiya Bashir which features The Washington Chorus and Sphinx's EXIGENCE Vocal Ensemble accompanied by Wei-Han Wu; Ralph Vaughan Williams' sublime Serenade to Music featuring TWC soloists and violinist Akemi Takayama; pianist Lara Downes performing Margaret Bond's stunning composition Troubled Water and a stirring setting of Rollo Dilworth's Freedom's Plow featuring Dr. Dilworth on piano and guest tenor soloist LaVonte Heard. 

The Washington Chorus: Resilience Concert Ticket Link

 

Livestream premiere on June 11, 2021. Ticket holders will have access to the program through their tickets until June 30, 2021. 

Thank you for stopping by my blog, and I wish you a beautiful beginning to May. Be safe & well! 🌷🌸✍🎶-Stacie 

April Serenades of Poetry & Song!

April has arrived this year with sunshine & the delights of Easter holidays! It's also the start of National Poetry Month, a lovely celebration of poets, poetry and writing poems throughout April. I am happy to be participating by writing 30 poems in 30 days! Find out more about NaPoWriMo and find daily poetry prompts @ https://www.napowrimo.net/

Here is my NaPoWriMo collection, Serenade of Spring. Read free on Wattpad, & be inspired! 💗✍

Serenade of Spring, a NaPoWriMo 2021 Collection by Stacie Eirich

I'm also continuing to write for the Open Novella Contest at Wattpad, with my YA fantasy submission currently submitted for Round 2 of the contest. For writerly motivation and support, I've also joined in CampNaNoWrimo for the month of April. Wish me luck! 🤞😉

And there's no shortage of inspiring songs to sing this April, as I'm currently completing musical projects with three different choirs, and am eagerly awaiting the release of spring and summer songs and concerts!

First up will be Allegri's Miserere & Acapella Wonders concerts with the Self Isolation Choir, which you can listen to from April 9th & 17th onwards at these links: 

Coming in May will be the release of the Stay at Home Choir's Sogno di Volare, and June will bring The Washington Chorus's Resilience concert, a special on-demand digital concert which we are just finishing up recordings for this week. I'll post more on TWC's Resilience concert in May!  

Wishing you a lovely April month of poetry, song and sunshine. Thank you for visiting my blog today, and may you be safe & well as springtime blossoms!   

🌺🌻🌷🌼📚✍🎵 -Stacie 

Stories & Songs of Spring

The first week of March has been one of inspiration, community and learning! Along with hundreds of other women, I'm grateful to have been a part of a conference designed to help support women in publishing. From sunup to sundown, each day was jam-packed with informative presentations, interviews with industry leaders, and chances to connect with writers, editors, agents, and publishers. 

 

With so much knowledge from women who have been in this business for years, I'm still processing all the useful tips, advice and strategies offered. As a writer, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by all the steps that must be taken in order for your manuscript to go from its early, rough draft stages to a completed, published book with an audience of real readers. 

The supportive and informed connections I made during the Women in Publishing in summit are perhaps my biggest and most important take-away from a week of constant Zooming, including Coffee & Chats, Q&As, and Live Office Hours with presenters. 

Yes, as writers we often write alone. We need solitude in order to arrange our thoughts and get the words down. But when it comes to learning about the process and business of writing and publishing our work, we need to share and learn from each other. And we need encouragement in order to share our stories with the world, and succeed in a business where you can easily feel lost at sea. 

To all the women I've connected with this week, I'm so happy to have found you! I'm excited to hear about what you're working on, where you are in the writing or publishing process, and what story or idea you are passionate about bringing to readers. Thank you for taking the time to connect; I hope you found the conference as inspirational and motivational as I did. 

With Spring already showing its warmth and flowering buds at my Southern home, I'm hopeful that March will continue to show itself to be a month of good tidings. In my household, it is usually a time of a flurry of activities for both myself and my children. In the midst of school exams, sports activities and arts programs I will endeavor to continue writing, and often find that it is this season of year when I'm most inspired! 

For those who know me, you know that in addition to writing and mothering, you can also find me singing. Spring is going to be a season of song indeed, as I'm currently singing with three choirs and am in a vocal workshop with an opera company. I share both my writing and singing journeys on Instagram and Twitter - you can find me on both @stacieeirich. 

I'll leave you with a song that feels like a beautiful breath of spring to me; I recorded it with The Stay at Home Choir last fall and it was released in February. It is a song of home, of hope - and of love. I hope you enjoy, and thank you so much for dropping by my blog today. Be safe, well, & inspired! 😊-Stacie 

Caledonia by Dougie MacLean, sung by VOCES8 & The Stay at Home Choir 

 

Heart's Echo, a Poem for February

Heart's Echo

The pianists’ fingers brush the keys, light and flexible as silken spring, 

effervescent as the clear dew of morn, blithe as the flight of a sparrow. 

Artfully she weaves each phrase, sweeping the ivories with effortless ease, 

enchanting melodies floating on the gentle breeze of a sonata, 

the graceful waltz of a serenade, the delicate allure of a nocturne. 

Her musicality flawless, 

Her desire fluent.

Exquisitely she holds within, a rapture that threatens to shatter, 

an ecstasy that consumes in exquisite passion, emptying unto its end - 

and she,  -  left bereft of song or measure or utterance,

Her rose petals scattered across the pianoforte,

Her heart an echoing requiem in stillness. 

Copyright @Stacie Eirich February 4, 2021

***

Thank you for visiting my blog, and I wish you a day filled with creativity and wonder. May you be safe & well. -Stacie 

Happy New Year 2021!

 

 

The new year is already bright with sunshine outside my window this morning, and I'm ready to meet 2021 with hope in my heart for better times!  

Here's a couple of the things I'm exciting to be working on in January ---

Sogno di Volare with composer Christopher Tin & The Stay at Home Choir

Our newest choral work is kicking the new year off by taking to the skies! This epic, inspirational piece celebrates human achievement and aspirations, and is the perfect way to start afresh in 2021. Click on the link below to find out more and sing with us!  

https://new.stayathomechoir.com/projects/sogno

 The Divine Lady W....A Bridgerton Fanfiction

My newest and most surprising work-in-progress was inspired by the red-hot Netflix series Bridgerton (books by Julia Quinn), a regency-era romantic drama with steam, scandal and scintillating fun! My fanfiction will star familiar characters that belong to Ms. Quinn but also a few of my own invention, as well as some new relationship & plot twists of my own design. This one will be purely for entertainment...and therefore will be available to read in full on Wattpad as I write, sans editing.

https://www.wattpad.com/story/253268754-the-divine-lady-w-a-bridgerton-fanfic

May you & your family be safe & well as you celebrate the New Year holiday, and I look forward to sharing my creative projects with you in 2021! 😊 -Stacie