Anyone who’s thought of writing poetry should check out Three Word Wednesday. That’s the heart of it – you get three words to play with, once a week. If you have a blog, link your poem to the site and get visits from other poets, then visit them back… if you don’t have a blog, click on the names listed, and you’ll see what they have done! It’s a nice way to get started in poetry. Also: Leave a pad and paper in three places: In the bathroom (!), by your bed, and next to where you usually waste time watching reality TV! You just might come up with something! Peace, Amy
IN LEANER TIMES
We the hardscrabbles
etched our names on our forearms
lest we be found in a ditch
with no one to utter our names
The nights in dim pubs
speaking easily of all we intended to do
dabbling in art, thinking youth and inspiration
would always be on tap, like Guinness
Those were the leaner times
Now most sit in cubicles or
stand in unemployment lines
remembering the joy of possessing nothing
…save inspiration
© 2010 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
Sharp Little Pencil 
booguloo
Before the week is out I will have the appropriate Parchment and frame for this nugget.
Sharp Little Pencil
Boogie on!! Amy
Mehreen
Wonderful use of the words!
Why did you ever go on a blogging break in the first place? 🙂
Have a great weekend!
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks so much, Mehreen. Have to log in and see what you did with it, then give you update, but we’ve moving, and I had to take a time of discernment because my husband’s pastorate was ending. Much planning, interstate move, etc. Won’t be settled until Feb., when I will resume fulltime! Have a great one, too, and don’t let the Christmas shoppers spoil your holiday! Peace, Amy
Sharp Little Pencil
I sent you an email because I could not find a comment spot on your blog, hope that’s OK! Thanks for stopping by! Amy
RS Bohn
Fantastic poem! Usually, I pick a stanza that I liked best, but honestly, all of them are gems. Well done, and… well observed.
Sherry Blue Sky
“the joy of possessing nothing….save inspiration”. Profoundly true. I love it, Amy. Am wondering what the three words were.
Sharp Little Pencil
OOPS! Lean, utter, dabble. Three Word Weds is a great place to be, Sherry, check it out! Sometimes I get nothing off the words; other times, real inspiration!
Debbie
This was certainly inspired and an inspiration! Thank you so much!
Sharp Little Pencil
Debbie, it’s also the truth in many ways – not the graphic parts like etching – although some of us were known to write our names and addresses in ballpoint in case we did end up passed out somewhere… sad but true!
Jae Rose
Oh to be a ‘hardscrabble’ (what an adjective)..it is true that you can never really celebrate going back to having ‘nothing’ once those cubicle hours have bought you a TV (with a remote) and an easy chair…and ‘etching your name on your forearm to be remembered’..powerful stuff..Yay! Jae 🙂
Sharp Little Pencil
You know, Jae, that word, “hardscrabble,” came out of nowhere when I looked at the three words. It was a divine moment, seeing that weaving itself together. And the odd thing about the cubicle life is that, when I was raising my daughter after my divorce, I was a cubicle type for a long, long time. Now I celebrate being freed up to create again. Some of us keep reinventing ourselves…! Thanks so much, Jae, Amy
deborah
A brilliant use of the words, wonderfully written, well done!
Sharp Little Pencil
Hope it was not too disturbing, but, other than the actual “etching” (as I said below, we were known to write names and addresses on our forearms just in case!), it’s all true. Those were the days
of no 401-Ks
and never the fears
of passing years…
Amy
Faith
Really good. Fits my mood today!
Sharp Little Pencil
Loved yours, too, and commented. Thanks for stopping by. I love how these prompts introduce us to new friends!
Amy Barlow Liberatore
ThomG
The flow of this poem is so wonderful, one word picks up after teh other and the richness stays with you when you finish.
Sharp Little Pencil
Wow, Thom, thanks for that. I’m not always “on” with the Three Word Weds. prompts – but this one hit me. The word “hardscrabble” sprang to mind, and I was off.
Thanks again, and good luck with your first NYC holiday season. It gets tense a couple of days before Christmas, and I don’t think FAO Schwartz is around anymore – no matter what your faith path, that store was a GAS! Peace to you, Amy