Stacy Campbell

Stacy Campbell lives in Hurst, Texas. She teaches English to special education students in Arlington, Texas.  In her free time she plays the guitar, writes poetry, short stories, and drinks very cold beer. She is previously published in Writer’s Digest, North Texas Professional Writer’s Anthology, Orange Room Review, Autumn Leaves, The Smoking Poet, A Little Poetry, and other on-line publications. She was a 2008 Commendation Award Winner from The Society of Southwestern Authors.

Outstretched  

The dirty cracks in a beggar’s hand

told more about me than him

A spurious smile transparent to his eyes

heaved humiliation upon me

as I passed.  Sliding thoughts

to a half moon place I pretend doesn’t exist

the fallacy of goodness falls flat to the ground

beneath the outstretched hand

of the needy I say I love

when I’m foolishly dressed in black

for a party.  The serrated words

hang in the air, like fog above a man-made lake

and I find I can hate myself duly; my cleanliness

makes fun of me in purchased fumes

that peck away my delight of lobster bisque

served in a hand made bowl from Africa.

Somewhere, he sits hungry on a curb, and I listen to

Miles Davis pretending I understand the meaning of life.

The Famous Dead Lady

The relevance of her life

is not for me to answer

she twisted her paint and oozed

her pain on you, her only son

with broad strokes of genius and torture

I am only a witness of the past present

in the dim light of a whiskey stained heart

bedraggled bodies now buried

hers, yours, mine

beneath tattoos of the trade, tricks

of the wicked

spray painted pretty

enough to eat, hard enough

to break your teeth

by thoughts abandoned

long before she was gone

a note from the bottom

my mood

has charcoal edges

it scrapes the day black

I can’t stop thinking about what is real

Sunless mornings

with scrambled eggs and sin

weighing me down

I cry

again    and    again

scratching mosquito bites

from yesterday

a jackknifed

woman still in bed

I know

I will only end

like

everyone

else

Comments

[Rosie]

Just beautiful, evocative poetry so full of depth and emotion. I am in awe of your talent and your ability to transport your reader with the fantastic images your words create.

I have been a fan of your work for a long time and you never, never disappoint.

Brava!

[Stacy Campbell]

I love your writing style. Each poem is beautifully crafted, and the images and messages are most provocative.
Linda Altoonian