Sunday Scribblings asked for poems about “opportunity.” This is actually destined to be a country=tinged song when I finish it, but the beginning seems made for the prompt. Also, Three Word Wednesday used the words Grip, Thread, and Prefer; this is my second poem for that prompt! Click on the poetry site links to read many more poets.
Also found at my poetic home, Poets United. Peace to you all, Amy
FOR SUNDAY SCRIBBLINGS
That’s How it Goes
Here’s how it goes, once in a while
The boy takes a shine to the girl with the smile
They waltz ’round the dance floor, and he takes a dare:
Says the sun was created to shine on her hair…
And her eyes seem to say what her heart already knows,
and that’s how it goes.
(c) 2011 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
FOR THREE WORD WEDNESDAY:
Open Mic (haiku)
Caught in the grip of
uncertainty’s clenched fist
Sweat pearls on her brow
At the podium,
words threaded into poems…
Fight or flight? She thinks:
“I’d prefer to flee
but I’m already up here.”
Breathe. Exhale. Give out.
(c) 2011 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
Sharp Little Pencil 
Jae Rose
They both make me want to say ‘go girl’..the song is beautiful..can already hear it..and the speech will be fantastic I’m sure..Jae
Sharp Little Pencil
Dear Jae,
I appreciate your confidence in me! I’m trying to get out to poetry readings, but they can be elusive, even in a city as big as Madison… doing one next week, though, with the Madison Poetry Tribe, where you not only read your poem, we all offer critiques. That’s the kind of group I want to be in on! Amy
trisha
this is terrific. just loved the scene you created here. 🙂
trisha
http://magicthought.wordpress.com/2011/06/19/the-thread-for-3ww/
Sharp Little Pencil
Trisha, thanks for this, and thank you for leaving a specific link for me to follow, since you also did the 3WW! Peace, Amy
pmwanken
ooooh…I like both, but especially your response to the Sunday Scribblings prompt. Very Nice.
As always, thanks for stopping by my site and your comments on the crossword prompt. It’s a prompt from Walt & Marie Elena’s Poetic Bloomings site. It’s not always a crossword. This week, it happened to be so, and very similar to the type of prompt at The Sunday Whirl. Here’s my response to today’s wordle:
http://whenwordsescape.wordpress.com/2011/06/19/bits-of-my-poems/
Have a blessed day!
~Paula
Sharp Little Pencil
Paula, thanks for letting me know about Walt and Marie’s new endeavor. I haven’t been keeping up with the PA crowd very much, although Pearl and I communicate quite a bit!
I’ll check out your Wordle and respond with mine, just completed tonight. Had trouble with “etches” for some reason! Thanks so much for the good vibes, Paula, and for stopping in. Peace, Amy
pmwanken
You’re welcome (re: Walt & Marie’s new endeavor)….and as for the “good vibes”…funny you should say that. I was talking to someone the other day who said I gave off “good vibes” and had a “smiling soul”. Hmm…perhaps I should work those into a poem someday! 🙂 ~Paula
Sharp Little Pencil
Smiling soul… the alliteration of that. Try a third-person, in which the girl in the mirror has that soul; conjure up all the good comments folks have made about you. It should be EPIC!! Amy
beespoetry
Oooh I like the first one- it will make an excellent country-ish song.
As far as the second… I know that feeling every time I speak publicly, or sing karaoke. Twisty icky feeling in the guts, flight or fight response triggered by the crazy adrenalin needed to get me in front of any kind of mic… You nailed it! (especially with “uncertainty’s clenched fist”)
Sharp Little Pencil
Oh Bee, that phrase is the gut of everyone who performs in public, no matter how big or small the venue. Yet it’s helpful to me when I sing, because it keeps me on my toes, you know?
Altonian
Never having been much of a dancer I never had the opportunity to make out on a dance floor.
A touch of stage fright now, I know all about that from years ago. Two cracking examples of your poetic skills.
Sharp Little Pencil
Leigh, I happen to love the word “cracking,” because you don’t hear it in the States. Such an onomatopoeic word, really. I never could dance either, that’s why I learned how to sing. Wanted something to do when the music started, hee hee. See you at Scandic, Amy
leiffyv
Great work for both of them! You often remind me why you are fantastic as a poet, you have such a great flow to your work I could never grasp myself. I suppose that’s why I’ve been on a short story/manuscript kick lately. Thanks for sharing these with us!
Sharp Little Pencil
Leif, thank you for the compliment – oddly, many of my poems could pass for flash fiction if I fleshed them out. I’m trying to get started on a manuscript about my mother and our nutty Irish side of the family (I mean, truly off the charts), but can’t seem to find that first sentence. Maybe I shouldn’t sweat that part, and just work on the rest of it? Amy
Renee Espriu
Beautiful piece, Amy. I have a wonderfully old photo of my parents dancing and this reminded me of that.
Sharp Little Pencil
Renee, so glad I could conjure that memory for you. Yes, there was a time when people danced close to each other without getting all sexual about it. Such a lost art… Amy
christine
Enjoyed both, the youthfulness of the first and could totally relate to the fear of the second.
Sharp Little Pencil
Glad you liked the contrast, Christine. I’m fond of Twofers because there are so many Wednesday prompts I follow! See you on your side of the blogosphere… Amy
vivinfrance
Nice one.
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks, Viv! Amy
Madeleine Begun Kane
I really liked both of them. I can really see the first in a country music song. As for the haiku, I especially liked this phrase: “Caught in the grip of
uncertainty’s clenched fist”.
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks so much, Madeleine. Sorry I have not had a limerick in me this week, but hoping the first verse of the song somewhat made up for it… Peace! Amy
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks, Kim. I don’t often have those wistful, dewy-eyed moments, but this couple came to me in a dream. Appreciate your comment, Kim. Amy
Sharp Little Pencil
I was tempted to use “beads,” but pearls seemed a tad fancier and more feminine in a way… thanks! Amy
Sharp Little Pencil
Rajesh, my friend, thank you so much. I’m traveling to India right now, if only via my computer! Amy
Grace Walker
Nice! I can totally feel the song wanting to be born there, the chorus, etc. I love seeing what everyone does with the prompt!
Sharp Little Pencil
I’m with you, Grace. It’s amazing, the diversity of thought out there, the ever-changing landscape of poetry.
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks Sheilagh, and yes, we go all have those moments!
Other Mary
Oh, good luck with the reading – those can be so nerve-wracking. I love the phrase ‘sweat pearls’ that’s great. Both pieces are jems Amy. Cheers!
Sharp Little Pencil
Mary, thanks so much. I know you’re Mary Bach!! “Other Mary” reminds me of all the jobs where there were two Amys and we each ended up being called “Other Amy,” or O.A. for short!
Yes, the readings can be hell on the nerves, but it’s so worth it. Thanks for kudos on “sweat pearls,” less cliched and more feminine in a way than beads, I thought. A