Sunday Scribblings gave us a simple prompt: Free. Also, Writer’s Island gave us Inseparable. So this is a twofer. Amy
A Mother’s Ferocious Love
Trapped like animals in their jungle village.
Strapped one to another: Young mother, daughter and son.
Shoved into ships, below deck,
so cramped, no room to stand.
The voyage was grueling.
Thin gruel was their mainstay.
These white masters with their whips at the ready
as steadily, her people died of fever and starvation.
The sound of the whippings, the whimpering.
Her son, finally succumbed to the wasting disease.
Now, as she wondered whether this boat would ever find land,
and she herself felt gripping pain in her gut.
Up on deck for the hosing down,
she clutched her baby girl in her arms,
inched her way to the rail and, in an instant,
they were both overboard, taken by the sea.
Her son had already been given to the water
after his death, tossed over like garbage.
At least now she and her baby girl would join the boy,
inseparable forever, engulfed in the endless waters. Free.
© 2010 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
Sharp Little Pencil 
Old Egg
The freedom from slavery through death is such an unimaginable step yet how many times this must have happened. Man’s unspeakable inhumanity sadly is still with us. Let us never turn a blind eye. Your message Amy must be constantly repeated.
Sharp Little Pencil
Oh, Robin, you know me. I’ll never shut up about social justice. From Mexicans smuggled in to be abused and imprisoned for field work to women and children, sold into the sex trade or Chinese and other factories, the slave trade is alive and well. And, as in previous posts, such as “Raw Nerve” and “Desserts,” I continue to speak as frankly as I can (without nauseating myself) about that stinky perfume, Eau du Hubris. Amy
ladynimue
Amy.. how do you get the courage for such lines ! Hard hitting and utterly sad 😐
Sharp Little Pencil
Nimue, it’s not really courage. I think part of the gift of manic depression is being able to blurt onto a page any outrage, any deep pain. The trick is writing it down. Sometimes it’s a letter I don’t mail in the end. And if I can only remember to keep my mouth shut before counting to 10… ! Thanks. Amy
Nimue
Most of my ideas do not find words .. as if words will fail them .. but i find them relating to what you write .. so i am happy with just reading as of now !
Sharp Little Pencil
I understand your dilemma, Nimue. I feel the same but find that, if I wait on them long enough to ripen, they eventually are plucked from the tree and the juice squeezed onto a page! (Hmmm, there’s a poem in there. Now must go write… so thank you!) Amy
gc1963
I could visualize each and every moment etched in the script. Extremely poignant and leaves a mind disturbed by its stark rude realistic portrayal.
Sharp Little Pencil
Went on your blog after reading this heartfelt comment. Your “Shepherd Boy” is an amazing piece. All who read these comments should click on GC’s link and take a look at the commentary as well as the free verse after. Amy
Cynthia
Amy, this is so sad and beautiful…you’ve really captured so much historical detail in a harsh reality. To find losing a child the most loving option…heartwrenching.
Sharp Little Pencil
To lose is to find in another way. A mother will always sacrifice herself for the sake of her child. It’s hard to see there’s only one way out when you are in the ultimate trap – the hands of greed. Thanks, Cynthia. Amy
Altonian
A powerful one, Amy. Harrowing without being harsh; sentimental without being cloying. Skilfully done, your prose poems continue to be of the very highest quality.
Sharp Little Pencil
Dear Leigh, thanks for this. Yes, it seems I’m rarely wedded to form… your comment “sentimental without being cloying” was very much appreciated, as it’s a tightrope I often walk, and very often it finds me tangled in the netting below!
Linda May
Wha ta heart breaker.
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks, Linda. Could not visit your site from the link you left, so hope to find you elsewhere and read your work. Amy
booguloo
Touched me deeply.
Sharp Little Pencil
Thank you, Michael. A
Jae Rose
Utterly unflinching..and heart-breaking..I am glad these discarded people have you to tell their story..Jae
Sharp Little Pencil
The United Church of Christ, Congregational branch in those days, took up collections to pay for the defense of Amistad prisoners and have stood for social justice from Abolition to women’s rights to LGBTQ equal justice under the law. So I’m schooled in the shameful practice of slavery… A
Sherry Blue Sky
Wow, Amy, such a rivetting portrayal of harsh events in our history. So powerful. I felt her freedom as she went into the water. Great writing.
Sharp Little Pencil
I broke my heart to write it. Then I read your post about another kind of water-related problem… real-time and compelling. Thanks. A
RJ Clarken
Wow! How powerful but terribly sad (particularly as it’s true.) You expressed it so well, Amy.
Sharp Little Pencil
You know, we’d walk through fire for our kids… or save them from bad by taking them to what seems like a worse place… it’s the hardest job in the world. Reflections from a scene in Amistad, even though I neglected to cite it (will amend the post), but the story was true, over and over and over. Thanks, Amy
RJ Clarken
I was thinking Amistad when I read this. Kind of nice (in a sad way) to know that we’re on the same page.
Sharp Little Pencil
I should have mentioned that my initial inspiration was that scene. Also, my denomination, the Congregationalists (United Church of Christ) were active in defending the Amistad prisoners – as well as Abolition, women’s suffrage, securing votes for African-Americans, and a fledgling minister named Martin Luther King, Jr., and a young activist named Cesar Chavez. We now work for the dignity and equal rights of LGBTQ people.
And yes, I never had any doubt we’re on the same (weary, teary) page… A
Kim Nelson
Oh Amy… the story of many, but no less heartbreaking. I literally feel an ache in my gut in response. You wrote very, very well.
I shared an older Fibonacci for the FREE prompt.
http://www.kimnelsonwrites.com/2011/01/31/you-me-and-fibonacci/
Sharp Little Pencil
Dear Kim, thanks for the generous comment. I remembered the scene from “Amistad” and took the story backward. It’s true; there were many such instances in the shameful slave trade. And that trade goes on today, underground, with young women and children for sex…
Thanks for the Fibonacci intro, as well as the connection to Blue (Mary). Amy
pamela
Amy, a heartbreaking poem. Beautifully written about such a sad subject, to think the only freedom one can have is death. This brought tears to my eyes.
Pamela
Sharp Little Pencil
Thank you, Pamela. You summed it up beautifully… and in death, a new beginning. Africans held belief that the ancestors were always close at hand, to guide, to help. Amy
Jingle
sad…
well told,
it is heartbreaking to see someone losing sons/daughters.
Sharp Little Pencil
This woman’s last thoughts? I wonder… yet I feel she was one who would walk through fire for her last child. “Anything better than this.” A
Meryl Jaffe
Wow. What a powerful story! Whew…
Sharp Little Pencil
Thank you so much, Meryl. Amy
Pearl Ketover Prilik
Dear Amy
A ” big” poem, moving and deep as the sea and the. ” sharp little pencil” who will always fan the spark of social justice!
Sharp Little Pencil
Pearl Girl, love that you stopped by – espec. because I have added your email address, which I somehow missed in my changeover to new address myself. Also, not on FB much, how about you? Thanks for the kind words, Amy
Joyce Cianciosi
WOW! This was one of the most incredible pieces I have ever read. You are so right. Mother’s do fight for their children in incredible ways. My sons are adult but my younger one struggles with mental illness. For the most part I leave things alone(i.e. his treatment) but if I don’t think things are going properly for him I step in and fight like a tiger. Thank you Amy for sharing your writing with us.
Sharp Little Pencil
Joyce, GO BUFFALO! I miss performing with Mary Kate and DIVA, but God called Lex to Lake Edge UCC here in Madison, and so it goes.
Thanks so much. Both I and my adult daughter live with mental illness – she is Asperger’s (autistic, high functioning), and I was at last diagnosed as manic depressive and PTSD. We both have seasonal affective disorder and use full-=spectrum lights for work – but Laura is in LA, which helps more than being in Madison, our new home.
It’s true about almost all the moms I know: We would walk through fire for our kids. That’s how it is. Amen. Good to hear from you, Joyce, and thanks for stopping by! Amy Barlow Liberatore
pmwanken
So moving. So well written. I agree with Altonian…nice balance! ~Paula
Sharp Little Pencil
Paula, thank you so much for coming by, as well as for the compliment. Altonian rocks, so double thank you! I will stop by your blog and see what you are up to… Amy
Mr. Walker
Amy, this is a wonderful poem about a horrible situation. It made me cry; I loved it. And you managed thoughtful takes on both “free” and “inseparable”. Brava!
Sharp Little Pencil
Thank you so much, Mr. Walker (are you The Phantom?). Will come by your blog and see what’s up. As for making you cry, as I always say to my male friends, guys should cry often and long. Helps stave off prostate cancer… Amy