Standing at the Beam (Full Score & String Parts)

“Standing at the Beam,” composed by Andrea Clearfield, with poetry by Anthony Silvestri, was created to foster a spirit of healing among survivors and the MSU Community due to the criminal sexual misconduct of Larry Nassar and to help all in need of healing from abuse. The work honors the strength and resilience of survivors. — Andrea Clearfield

STANDING AT THE BEAM
Poem by Charles Anthony Silvestri
© 2019 for Andrea Clearfield

Standing at the beam
All alone
Shaken still shaken…
broken…
Standing on the edge
Seeking balance
Shifting equilibrium shifting…
imbalance…
Rising into my routine
Trying not to fall falling…
Facing all those faces fearing…
Who’ll never know hiding…
That not to fall
Requires all
The grit, the work, the strength
Even the strength of all my scars
To get back up again

Standing at the beam
A shadow at my side shadow…
Weighing me down inside…
still…

This shadow is not my story
And nothing will take the glory
Of what I have accomplished

But I cannot balance alone
I must dance with the shadows
Until they fade
Until what’s real shines through…

And I see you I see you…
Standing together together…
We shake this shadow
And lift each other up

The light of life is ours today
The world will hear what we must say
The light of truth drives shadows away
And reveals a bright new dawn

lifting…
We stand at the beam shifting…
In strength, together together…
Where shadows cannot touch us.