Going the Distance:
“Who Do You Think You Are, Amy Barlow Liberatore?”
Let’s hear what everybody else says first:
“You were born 40 and you’re working your way backwards,”
said my mom, when I was 7
“Charmful little armful,”
said my musical mentor
“She can SANG!”
said our African-American piano player
“Get that bitch off the podium!”
snarled the Buffalo cop at a peace rally
“Please don’t say that about your dad,”
cried my mom, when I was 35
“You’re not a dyke, why should you care?”
asked a Fundie at a PRIDE rally (when I challenged their ‘God Hates Fags’ sign)
“Good thing you can sing. Your dancing sucks,”
joked my friend at a big band concert
“You’re not a victim; you’re a survivor,”
said my therapist
“You wear manic depression well,”
grinned my psychiatrist
“You have the soul of a dinosaur,”
said the oracle Sidnie
“Don’t hold back, tell us how you really feel,”
say bloggers (with a wink)
“PLAY ‘FEEEEELINGS’!!”
slobbered countless drunks at my piano bar
“You’re just a gay man trapped in a straight woman’s body,”
said Jeffery, may he rest in peace
“You’re going to hell for encouraging those homosexuals,”
say… too many people to mention
“If you’re going to hell, it’s gonna be in a FABulous handbasket,”
giggled Jason
“Thanks for the lessons,”
said my BFF (and only he will understand that comment)
“I have no dramatic coming-out story because you were so accepting,”
laughed Riley
“She’s a pain in the ass,”
said the FBI agent, flipping through my file
“Take it off! Take it off!”
cried Christopher after I sang a comedic song about stripper envy
“Because she questions my authority,”
said the principal to my mother, as I sat in detention
“You are SO worth it,”
says my husband, over and over again
My life is chaotic peace.
I’m a sharp little pencil, still writing my life.
© 2012 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
For Poetic Bloomings (“Who Do You Think You Are?”), for Sunday Scribblings (distance), and for the Poetry Pantry at Poets United.
Jul 30, 2012 @ 19:21:25
I. SO. LOVE. EVERY. WORD. AND. LINE of this. You so totally rock, Amy!!!!!
Jul 30, 2012 @ 19:35:54
Yup, sounds just like you, which is why I like you. Love you, actually, but the pun didn’t work with that.
Jul 30, 2012 @ 19:40:26
Very colorful and very real, Amy! You have affected lives of others the way you chose. You’ve been having fun and you are still at it. Keep at it Ma’am!
Hank
Jul 30, 2012 @ 19:43:53
I laughed, I cried, I wondered why we don’t live next to each other to laugh and cry at these as buddies.
we’re alot alike.
Jul 30, 2012 @ 21:47:02
haha keep that pencil sharp…hey you have lived life eh…and lol on that cop at the rally…smiles…you def have character amy…smiles
Jul 31, 2012 @ 01:25:55
You missed out “An inspiration!”
Love
John
Jul 31, 2012 @ 03:08:39
Your sharp little pencil is not only write your posts but to prick some inflamed opinions too.
Jul 31, 2012 @ 07:53:19
Beautiful. Tragic yet triumphant.
Thank you.
Chris
Jul 31, 2012 @ 08:30:31
All of that, and more.
And you left out She rocks.
Jul 31, 2012 @ 08:43:19
I adore this beyond words!
Jul 31, 2012 @ 10:01:59
YOU ARE LOVELY
I hear your laughter, watch your smile,
and I adore your juvenile
magnificence. It is for sure
for any sadness one big cure!
::: (\_(\
*: (=’ :’) :*
•.. (,(”)(”)¤°.¸¸.•´¯`»
Jul 31, 2012 @ 12:22:36
Absolutely loved this.
“I love you, Ameleh!” said your brudda from anudda mudda.
Jul 31, 2012 @ 12:36:42
oh, i love pieces like this the best, where the poets bring us directly into their lives so we see what they see and hear the voices they hear. you did this so well, Amy. don’t ever stop being a pain in the ass!
by that i mean don’t ever stop speaking up for what you believe in, and don’t stop writing, either. 
xo
Aug 01, 2012 @ 00:22:17
careful…you’re transending Emily
Aug 01, 2012 @ 03:04:59
Sharp little pencil scribbling away
Telling us of her light and dark days.
Sometimes she cocks a snook at the world
Sometimes she sits on the sofa , all curled
She’s gone through the tunnel, dreary and dark
But now she’s in the sun, leaning on a bark.
Aug 02, 2012 @ 03:04:48
LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS!
♥
Aug 03, 2012 @ 14:39:12
Love your piece! I enjoyed getting to hear all these different voices, some in favor of you, some ranting at your audacity of sporting a sharp little pencil.
Aug 08, 2012 @ 18:18:18
Fantubulous indeed! I agree on so many levels. My two best friends at one point were Gay and going with them to one of ‘their’ bars was an experience well worth it. All of your experiences, my friend, are well worth it, I’m very sure. I commend you from my little corner of the world.