Stephanie Maria
@staylokey.bsky.social
Poet | Writer | Filmmaker | Educator | 92%🔵
Mood Reader & Writer | Storyteller 🗣️📸📖🎬
I ❤️ reading 📖, writing ✍🏾, listening 🎧, & watching stories 📺 and giving my ✌️🏾cents.
I support:🧘🏾♀️🐦🔥✊🏾🍉💕🌈🏳️⚧️📚🧠👸🏾♈️🗳️
*All content is ©️ by me unless credited.
Mood Reader & Writer | Storyteller 🗣️📸📖🎬
I ❤️ reading 📖, writing ✍🏾, listening 🎧, & watching stories 📺 and giving my ✌️🏾cents.
I support:🧘🏾♀️🐦🔥✊🏾🍉💕🌈🏳️⚧️📚🧠👸🏾♈️🗳️
*All content is ©️ by me unless credited.
Pinned
Stephanie Maria
@staylokey.bsky.social
· Mar 11
Day 28 of ✊🏾 #poems
You didn't make it a home—she did
You were never there—she was
You don't get to drown my sterling memories in Red Bulls and alcohol.
You don’t get to sully her rebel name And if it's all the same to you
I'd prefer to remember my home with her—
and leave this haunted house alone.
You didn't make it a home—she did
You were never there—she was
You don't get to drown my sterling memories in Red Bulls and alcohol.
You don’t get to sully her rebel name And if it's all the same to you
I'd prefer to remember my home with her—
and leave this haunted house alone.
March 1, 2026 at 6:35 AM
Day 28 of ✊🏾 #poems
You didn't make it a home—she did
You were never there—she was
You don't get to drown my sterling memories in Red Bulls and alcohol.
You don’t get to sully her rebel name And if it's all the same to you
I'd prefer to remember my home with her—
and leave this haunted house alone.
You didn't make it a home—she did
You were never there—she was
You don't get to drown my sterling memories in Red Bulls and alcohol.
You don’t get to sully her rebel name And if it's all the same to you
I'd prefer to remember my home with her—
and leave this haunted house alone.
Day 27 ✊🏾 #poems #bvm
We had love and libations.
We had closeness and celebrations.
We had kindness and kinfolk.
We welcomed all walks of life,
all parts of the day,
and all parts of the night.
Now it’s secret snickering,
snide comments,
side eyes and damnation,
empty complaints and exaggerations.
We had love and libations.
We had closeness and celebrations.
We had kindness and kinfolk.
We welcomed all walks of life,
all parts of the day,
and all parts of the night.
Now it’s secret snickering,
snide comments,
side eyes and damnation,
empty complaints and exaggerations.
March 1, 2026 at 6:30 AM
Day 26 ✊🏾 #poems #bvm #poetry
#brave
My cousin’s grandparents:
laughed with one another
spent quality time their grandchildren
Cousin:
Our stomachs hurt
joking with our grandfather
bellies full of food
bodies full of cheer
In my grandparent’s house
we had fun
In my grandma's heart
we felt safe
#brave
My cousin’s grandparents:
laughed with one another
spent quality time their grandchildren
Cousin:
Our stomachs hurt
joking with our grandfather
bellies full of food
bodies full of cheer
In my grandparent’s house
we had fun
In my grandma's heart
we felt safe
February 27, 2026 at 4:27 PM
Day 25 of ✊🏾 #poems #bvm
I listened
as she spoke of people
I knew but never met
Cousin:
Big iron skillet pancakes
hiding Delta syrup
test-driving biscuits
on the plate’s curb
drowning in butter
Swimming salmon croquettes
on sizzling skillets
with homemade fruit drizzles
for giggling grandchildren
I listened
as she spoke of people
I knew but never met
Cousin:
Big iron skillet pancakes
hiding Delta syrup
test-driving biscuits
on the plate’s curb
drowning in butter
Swimming salmon croquettes
on sizzling skillets
with homemade fruit drizzles
for giggling grandchildren
February 27, 2026 at 4:20 PM
Day 24 of ✊🏾 #poems
My mom suffered in that house,
soothing sitcoms silencing a stuttering tongue.
She was silent, yet strong.
A sober stepfather never remembered
his damage the next day
while her morphine-hooked mother
never came to her defense
to everyone's dismay—
my grandparents.
#bvm #poetry
My mom suffered in that house,
soothing sitcoms silencing a stuttering tongue.
She was silent, yet strong.
A sober stepfather never remembered
his damage the next day
while her morphine-hooked mother
never came to her defense
to everyone's dismay—
my grandparents.
#bvm #poetry
February 26, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Day 23 ✊🏾 #poems
Growing up
I watched them dance
with hateful words
as if they rehearsed
Never repeating
the same spiteful words twice
art in motion
hands clenched
skillful seasoned boxers
Every day was a good day to fight
wrong only feels right
bc it’s necessary to survive these racist times
#bvm
Growing up
I watched them dance
with hateful words
as if they rehearsed
Never repeating
the same spiteful words twice
art in motion
hands clenched
skillful seasoned boxers
Every day was a good day to fight
wrong only feels right
bc it’s necessary to survive these racist times
#bvm
February 26, 2026 at 3:34 PM
Day 22 of ✊🏾 #poems
She whined
whispered woes
to neighbors close by
outlining her disapproval of you
I witnessed arguments
with the other n*gga
second baby daddy after matrimony shotgun wedding, of course
her daddy didn't play that sh*t
Oh, you sleeping with two n*ggas? so she suffered consequences.
She whined
whispered woes
to neighbors close by
outlining her disapproval of you
I witnessed arguments
with the other n*gga
second baby daddy after matrimony shotgun wedding, of course
her daddy didn't play that sh*t
Oh, you sleeping with two n*ggas? so she suffered consequences.
February 26, 2026 at 4:10 AM
Day 22 of ✊🏾 #poems
She whined
whispered woes
to neighbors close by
outlining her disapproval of you
I witnessed arguments
with the other n*gga
second baby daddy after matrimony shotgun wedding, of course
her daddy didn't play that sh*t
Oh, you sleeping with two n*ggas? so she suffered consequences.
She whined
whispered woes
to neighbors close by
outlining her disapproval of you
I witnessed arguments
with the other n*gga
second baby daddy after matrimony shotgun wedding, of course
her daddy didn't play that sh*t
Oh, you sleeping with two n*ggas? so she suffered consequences.
Day 21 of ✊🏾 #poems
She combed her
angry afro-native curls
with an old-fashioned brush.
She complained about
the toilet seat getting stuck.
She hated the soggy, slimy
water-soaked soap by the sink
sliding through family fingertips.
Be careful not to slip
or she'd let her words.
#blueskypoetry #bvm
She combed her
angry afro-native curls
with an old-fashioned brush.
She complained about
the toilet seat getting stuck.
She hated the soggy, slimy
water-soaked soap by the sink
sliding through family fingertips.
Be careful not to slip
or she'd let her words.
#blueskypoetry #bvm
February 24, 2026 at 5:51 AM
Day 21 of ✊🏾 #poems
She combed her
angry afro-native curls
with an old-fashioned brush.
She complained about
the toilet seat getting stuck.
She hated the soggy, slimy
water-soaked soap by the sink
sliding through family fingertips.
Be careful not to slip
or she'd let her words.
#blueskypoetry #bvm
She combed her
angry afro-native curls
with an old-fashioned brush.
She complained about
the toilet seat getting stuck.
She hated the soggy, slimy
water-soaked soap by the sink
sliding through family fingertips.
Be careful not to slip
or she'd let her words.
#blueskypoetry #bvm
Day 20 of ✊🏾 #poems
Black families coerced to hide souls
on fertile ground at the risk of being found out
feet tied to ocean bricks
continuing an oral history
hoodwinked
by my grandmother’s grandmother’s owner
lives tied to white lies
an affront to the abused
and this is our norm
#blackhistory #bvm
Black families coerced to hide souls
on fertile ground at the risk of being found out
feet tied to ocean bricks
continuing an oral history
hoodwinked
by my grandmother’s grandmother’s owner
lives tied to white lies
an affront to the abused
and this is our norm
#blackhistory #bvm
February 21, 2026 at 2:36 AM
Day 20 of ✊🏾 #poems
Black families coerced to hide souls
on fertile ground at the risk of being found out
feet tied to ocean bricks
continuing an oral history
hoodwinked
by my grandmother’s grandmother’s owner
lives tied to white lies
an affront to the abused
and this is our norm
#blackhistory #bvm
Black families coerced to hide souls
on fertile ground at the risk of being found out
feet tied to ocean bricks
continuing an oral history
hoodwinked
by my grandmother’s grandmother’s owner
lives tied to white lies
an affront to the abused
and this is our norm
#blackhistory #bvm
Day 19 of ✊🏾 #poems
I am broken
an unfinished piece
with visible cracks
dropped multiple times
glued myself together
with affirmations
wishing words
would weld
I’m opening old wounds
with fresh memories
finding more evidence to cry
this is the agony I know
#blueskypoetry
#booksky
#read #bvm
I am broken
an unfinished piece
with visible cracks
dropped multiple times
glued myself together
with affirmations
wishing words
would weld
I’m opening old wounds
with fresh memories
finding more evidence to cry
this is the agony I know
#blueskypoetry
#booksky
#read #bvm
February 20, 2026 at 1:26 PM
Day 19 of ✊🏾 #poems
I am broken
an unfinished piece
with visible cracks
dropped multiple times
glued myself together
with affirmations
wishing words
would weld
I’m opening old wounds
with fresh memories
finding more evidence to cry
this is the agony I know
#blueskypoetry
#booksky
#read #bvm
I am broken
an unfinished piece
with visible cracks
dropped multiple times
glued myself together
with affirmations
wishing words
would weld
I’m opening old wounds
with fresh memories
finding more evidence to cry
this is the agony I know
#blueskypoetry
#booksky
#read #bvm
Day 18 of ✊🏾 #poems
Driving the pedal
feet pressing metal
tires feel the burn
your shoes
testing them at every turn
You uttered French words
to passersby
unafraid of police stops
your shoes jumped out
to confront the cops
stunned by you busting their chops
sworn to secrecy we don’t tell pops
#bvm
Driving the pedal
feet pressing metal
tires feel the burn
your shoes
testing them at every turn
You uttered French words
to passersby
unafraid of police stops
your shoes jumped out
to confront the cops
stunned by you busting their chops
sworn to secrecy we don’t tell pops
#bvm
February 19, 2026 at 4:53 AM
Day 17 of ✊🏾 #poems
Your widower evicted you
from his closet today.
Shoes stacked to the ceiling
bagged with toe-tags.
He turned to me
Do you want ‘em?
I responded
Yes! Yes, of course, I do.
I want to walk in your shoes
feel the dents and grooves
carved by a way-maker.
#blueskypoetry #bvm #write
Your widower evicted you
from his closet today.
Shoes stacked to the ceiling
bagged with toe-tags.
He turned to me
Do you want ‘em?
I responded
Yes! Yes, of course, I do.
I want to walk in your shoes
feel the dents and grooves
carved by a way-maker.
#blueskypoetry #bvm #write
February 19, 2026 at 4:33 AM
Day 17 of ✊🏾 #poems
Your widower evicted you
from his closet today.
Shoes stacked to the ceiling
bagged with toe-tags.
He turned to me
Do you want ‘em?
I responded
Yes! Yes, of course, I do.
I want to walk in your shoes
feel the dents and grooves
carved by a way-maker.
#blueskypoetry #bvm #write
Your widower evicted you
from his closet today.
Shoes stacked to the ceiling
bagged with toe-tags.
He turned to me
Do you want ‘em?
I responded
Yes! Yes, of course, I do.
I want to walk in your shoes
feel the dents and grooves
carved by a way-maker.
#blueskypoetry #bvm #write
Day 16 of ✊🏾 #poems
Her whisper permitted me to stay
knowing she’d passed away
I can't wait to see her again
Her smile was golden
a sight to be hold in
words unfounded
God couldn't describe it
She was beauty incarnate
Everyone was blessed in her presence
even the sun’s light was jealous.
#poetry
Her whisper permitted me to stay
knowing she’d passed away
I can't wait to see her again
Her smile was golden
a sight to be hold in
words unfounded
God couldn't describe it
She was beauty incarnate
Everyone was blessed in her presence
even the sun’s light was jealous.
#poetry
February 17, 2026 at 1:03 PM
Day 15 of ✊🏾 #poems
Sun rays permeate
light touches the ground
I can feel the pound underneath
Souls guiding my feet
I'm almost at the door
the sound of a bing releases
my weight to the floor
The text says
Go Home
Tears fall where the sunlight stains
I’m running
I'm coming, Ma
I'm coming!
#bvm
Sun rays permeate
light touches the ground
I can feel the pound underneath
Souls guiding my feet
I'm almost at the door
the sound of a bing releases
my weight to the floor
The text says
Go Home
Tears fall where the sunlight stains
I’m running
I'm coming, Ma
I'm coming!
#bvm
February 17, 2026 at 12:57 PM
Day 14 of ✊🏾 #poems
Slinging papers to sign in the company's defense,
covering your ass as white sheets loom over black bodies.
Who gave you the right to sum up his life using a one-sheeter?
Curse corporations, this company,
and the policies you man, STOP—
and give my brother a hand!
#poetry #bvm
Slinging papers to sign in the company's defense,
covering your ass as white sheets loom over black bodies.
Who gave you the right to sum up his life using a one-sheeter?
Curse corporations, this company,
and the policies you man, STOP—
and give my brother a hand!
#poetry #bvm
February 16, 2026 at 10:58 AM
Day 13 of ✊🏾 #poems
Look at him
Laying there
on private property
on perfectly paved parking spots
that cost more than his income
life
Your silence is spooky
as you gesture to coworkers
Mightily you stand
peering down at him
mocking him with your stature
How dare you not rush to his aid?
#poetry
Look at him
Laying there
on private property
on perfectly paved parking spots
that cost more than his income
life
Your silence is spooky
as you gesture to coworkers
Mightily you stand
peering down at him
mocking him with your stature
How dare you not rush to his aid?
#poetry
February 16, 2026 at 10:54 AM
Day 12 of ✊🏾 #poems
His breaking back mimics the sound
of celery stacks
twisting slowly shifting his foundation of walking
He looks to onlookers for help bystanders
unable to grasp the gravity
Eyes filming the anguish of others
hands recording the pain of my brother
No empathy on-site.
#poetry
His breaking back mimics the sound
of celery stacks
twisting slowly shifting his foundation of walking
He looks to onlookers for help bystanders
unable to grasp the gravity
Eyes filming the anguish of others
hands recording the pain of my brother
No empathy on-site.
#poetry
February 16, 2026 at 10:47 AM
Day 11 of ✊🏾 #poems
She
woke up like this
flawless
in mind, body, spirit
She
clung to the mic like a pen
droppin’ gems midair
for us to grab hold
as we listen to her becoming
She
Unapologetically Strong
Unapologetically Black
Unapologetically Woman
Unapologetically Michelle
#bvm #poetry #blacksky
She
woke up like this
flawless
in mind, body, spirit
She
clung to the mic like a pen
droppin’ gems midair
for us to grab hold
as we listen to her becoming
She
Unapologetically Strong
Unapologetically Black
Unapologetically Woman
Unapologetically Michelle
#bvm #poetry #blacksky
February 13, 2026 at 5:59 AM
Day 10 of #poems
I remember
Honey baby child
snappin’ my fingers
chompin’ pink gum
Down down baby
hand smacks, eye rolls
air jumps touching toes
Popsicle popsicle
a boom boom hips
When I dip, you dip, we dip
Rockin' Robin tweets
Smiley face backpack
Kickin’ kickballs to next week
#blacksky #bvm
I remember
Honey baby child
snappin’ my fingers
chompin’ pink gum
Down down baby
hand smacks, eye rolls
air jumps touching toes
Popsicle popsicle
a boom boom hips
When I dip, you dip, we dip
Rockin' Robin tweets
Smiley face backpack
Kickin’ kickballs to next week
#blacksky #bvm
February 12, 2026 at 10:08 PM
Day 9 of ✊🏾 #poems
I remember
playing basketball
with no basket
we stopping traffic
blasting music before
the ice-cream truck rolled up.
Rushing to the road
with only a buck
pushing to get
to the front—
don’t look up!
If the streetlights
come on, we’re f*cked!
#bvm #poetry #blacksky #booksky
I remember
playing basketball
with no basket
we stopping traffic
blasting music before
the ice-cream truck rolled up.
Rushing to the road
with only a buck
pushing to get
to the front—
don’t look up!
If the streetlights
come on, we’re f*cked!
#bvm #poetry #blacksky #booksky
February 11, 2026 at 11:10 AM
Day 8 of ✊🏾 #poems
I remember riding bikes
to the candy lady’s house:
Cool ranch
Doritos
Nacho chips
Penny candy
sticking to fingers.
Brute boys getting
they lick back
tag—you’re it
gripping handlebars
Pedaling fast
whooping a**
fastest on my feet
daring boys to race
in the street.
#bvm #poetry
I remember riding bikes
to the candy lady’s house:
Cool ranch
Doritos
Nacho chips
Penny candy
sticking to fingers.
Brute boys getting
they lick back
tag—you’re it
gripping handlebars
Pedaling fast
whooping a**
fastest on my feet
daring boys to race
in the street.
#bvm #poetry
February 10, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Day 7 of ✊🏾 #poems
I'm loving the skin I’m in
a gumbo pot blend of Grandma's deep, rich chocolate and
Momma's soft yellow-bone cheekbones.
I carry both Queens in my undertones,
meeting somewhere down the middle.
It took an abundance of Black to get the skin I'm in,
a cornucopia of African shades.
I'm loving the skin I’m in
a gumbo pot blend of Grandma's deep, rich chocolate and
Momma's soft yellow-bone cheekbones.
I carry both Queens in my undertones,
meeting somewhere down the middle.
It took an abundance of Black to get the skin I'm in,
a cornucopia of African shades.
February 8, 2026 at 8:22 AM
Day 7 of ✊🏾 #poems
I'm loving the skin I’m in
a gumbo pot blend of Grandma's deep, rich chocolate and
Momma's soft yellow-bone cheekbones.
I carry both Queens in my undertones,
meeting somewhere down the middle.
It took an abundance of Black to get the skin I'm in,
a cornucopia of African shades.
I'm loving the skin I’m in
a gumbo pot blend of Grandma's deep, rich chocolate and
Momma's soft yellow-bone cheekbones.
I carry both Queens in my undertones,
meeting somewhere down the middle.
It took an abundance of Black to get the skin I'm in,
a cornucopia of African shades.
Day 6 of ✊🏾 #poems
I am my mother’s legacy,
with brevity.
I’ll never recover from her death—
I remember with every breath
that I am her.
She has a palm
on every plan,
a govern
in each goal
I chase after.
I feel her pain,
so I advocate
in her name.
#bvm #blm #blackpoet
#blacksky #blackhistory
I am my mother’s legacy,
with brevity.
I’ll never recover from her death—
I remember with every breath
that I am her.
She has a palm
on every plan,
a govern
in each goal
I chase after.
I feel her pain,
so I advocate
in her name.
#bvm #blm #blackpoet
#blacksky #blackhistory
February 7, 2026 at 12:05 AM
Day 6 of ✊🏾 #poems
I am my mother’s legacy,
with brevity.
I’ll never recover from her death—
I remember with every breath
that I am her.
She has a palm
on every plan,
a govern
in each goal
I chase after.
I feel her pain,
so I advocate
in her name.
#bvm #blm #blackpoet
#blacksky #blackhistory
I am my mother’s legacy,
with brevity.
I’ll never recover from her death—
I remember with every breath
that I am her.
She has a palm
on every plan,
a govern
in each goal
I chase after.
I feel her pain,
so I advocate
in her name.
#bvm #blm #blackpoet
#blacksky #blackhistory
Day 5 of ✊🏾 #poems #bvm
The complexities that carved me
had their hands full of genius.
I am masterfully made,
quilting a chorus of #Black history,
a purpose that preceded Stephanie.
I must create, or my physical shakes,
contort my limbs, steal my sleep.
Imagining impotence is sickening to me.
The complexities that carved me
had their hands full of genius.
I am masterfully made,
quilting a chorus of #Black history,
a purpose that preceded Stephanie.
I must create, or my physical shakes,
contort my limbs, steal my sleep.
Imagining impotence is sickening to me.
February 6, 2026 at 4:14 AM
Day 4 of ✊🏾 #poems
Black joy
smiling,
grinning from
grill to chin,
taking up space
in a far-off place.
You don’t make sense here,
but you exist anyway.
White people are puzzled—
how you juggle
heartache and hard times,
and still find time
to laugh through the bullsh*t.
#bvm #poetry #blackpoet #blm
Black joy
smiling,
grinning from
grill to chin,
taking up space
in a far-off place.
You don’t make sense here,
but you exist anyway.
White people are puzzled—
how you juggle
heartache and hard times,
and still find time
to laugh through the bullsh*t.
#bvm #poetry #blackpoet #blm
February 5, 2026 at 1:20 AM
Day 4 of ✊🏾 #poems
Black joy
smiling,
grinning from
grill to chin,
taking up space
in a far-off place.
You don’t make sense here,
but you exist anyway.
White people are puzzled—
how you juggle
heartache and hard times,
and still find time
to laugh through the bullsh*t.
#bvm #poetry #blackpoet #blm
Black joy
smiling,
grinning from
grill to chin,
taking up space
in a far-off place.
You don’t make sense here,
but you exist anyway.
White people are puzzled—
how you juggle
heartache and hard times,
and still find time
to laugh through the bullsh*t.
#bvm #poetry #blackpoet #blm