Three prompts, three poems. Enjoy, Amy
FOR SENSATIONAL HAIKU WEDNESDAY (prompt: Home)
Our Big Transatlantic Move
In tropics too long…
Gazing at Autumn’s palette
we know we are home.
© 2011 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
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FOR ONE SINGLE IMPRESSION (prompt: Silence)
Silence
Deeply drowsy,
almost asleep,
I am awakened by
silence.
My silence possesses
a certain charisma.
Mood music melts my mind
in the key of D-flat.
As one’s eye might
perceive a heavy haze
on a lazy afternoon,
so I hear my silence.
Whispers, wishes.
Haunting harmonics
pitched aloft like angels, but
with a hint of humanity.
© 2011 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
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FOR POETS UNITED (prompt: Third letter of your first name. And no, my first name is not “Sharp”!)
Y Not?
Yawningly waking.
Yearning aching to make love.
Yanking off your T-shirt,
purring, giggling, yowling…
Yelling, “Yes! yes! yes!”
After all these years,
you and I are youngas our first “yowza”!
© 2011 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
For Lex, with love
Sharp Little Pencil 
vivienne Blake
Every one a cracker in its different way – you are on song today (in 7 sharps, naturally)
Sharp Little Pencil
Apparently, a physics major who’s also a musician discovered that the natural key “behind” all the noise we make is Db. I find it interesting because that’s the key Billy Strayhorn used to compose “Lush Life.” Probably the only jazz standard even employing that key. The man was onto something! Thanks, Viv! I love the term “cracker” in the British context! Amy
Sherry Blue Sky
I especially like your poem about silence, Amy. The last stanza especially. Beautiful. And yowza, indeed, for your Y poem:)
Sharp Little Pencil
Ha ha, “yowza” is a word that’s used a lot in our bedroom! The silence, yes, it actually does sing to me. I consider it a blessing. Thanks, Sherry, love, Amy
Debbie
Laughing about your name not being Sharp! 🙂 You have been busy and leave us 3 poems of wonderful to enjoy! Thank you!
Sharp Little Pencil
Debbie, it was one of those days where writing poetry was all I could do…! You know me… Peace, Amy
Olive Tree
I came by from Poets United. Loved your Y Not poem. That was fun to read. I loved how you play around with the Y words. And Yes, I love your other 2 poems too. I may actually visit those memes too today.
Sharp Little Pencil
Thank you so much for visiting my blog! Glad you liked the Y Not poem, because it indeed was fun to write. Wordplay is a wonderful form of release, freeing the thoughts in one’s head to come out and dance… I’m coming over to see what’s on your blog now! Peace, Amy
Roger Green
Your first name isn’t Sharp? Boy, I’d better read your blog more carefully… Anyway, I know you’re younger than I am, but you have ‘yowzah, yowzah, yowzah’ stuck in my mind.
And if I write what I was gonna write, you’d probably find it sordid, like the cardigan reference- it’s MR. ROGERS!
Sharp Little Pencil
Ha ha ha. YOWZA! I can’t help my bent sense of humor… beyond “warped,” I’m afraid. Too many years hanging with bands, and me usually the only girl – plus my Black Irish family, macabre to the max! Thanks Roger… Amy
David King
I like this very much. Its effectiveness is not unconnected with its simplicity, I feel. Very enjoyable.
Sharp Little Pencil
Thank you so much, David. Sometimes I get a bit caught up in wordiness, and I’ve been working at streamlining my work. Glad it’s taking root! Peace, Amy
Heaven
Whew, 3 posts in one… what a treat ~
I like the haiku..nice play on the season.
I like the silence poem.. I can hear silence.
The last one is such fun to read..ha..ha….YES! YES! YES!
Sharp Little Pencil
Ha, you little Meg Ryan, you! Glad they met with your approval – the advantage of the “manic” part of manic depressive…! Amy
booguloo
I enjoyed all three, but the last stanza of silence struck a note with me… several to be exact.
Sharp Little Pencil
And all in the key of D flat! Thanks so much, MIchael! Amy
Deborah
What a wonderful trio! A delight to read … all of them :o)
Sharp Little Pencil
Liked your choice of smiley face, Deborah. Could it be the “yowza”? Ha ha. Thanks, Amy
Old Ollie
these are good moments…little too rare..but good (Y)
Sharp Little Pencil
Ha, I knew you’d like the “Y” poem. Funny, it seems to be the top vote of the three… hmmm… (wink) Amy
Mama Zen
Three excellent pieces!
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks, Mama Suprema!
Joseph Harker
I like all three, but particularly the first one. It always seems such a shame to me that there are people in the world who don’t know snow or autumn leaves at all. I can do without year-long sun and warmth; I can’t do without the others.
Sharp Little Pencil
Ah, Joseph, a man after my own heart. The first time Riley heard the crunch of leaves under her sneakers, she was giggling with delight. I have a picture of her at that age, surrounded by mounds of fallen leaves, all brilliant colors. I would not trade autumn for anything. Winter gives us an excuse for cocoa, and spring reminds us that the cycle of life continues. It’s all good… thanks for stopping, my friend! Amy
Daydreamertoo
Enjoyed all three … loved the last one! Glad you still enjoy so much fun 🙂
Sharp Little Pencil
Ha, ha, that last one has been getting a lot of comments. You should have seen Lex’s face when he saw the post. Somewhere between mortified and quite pleased!! Amy
Mike Patrick
I just checked in to say hello, Amy, and you blow me away. I don’t remember ever seeing three more moving poems in one posting. The haiku: perfect in form and subject. The tribute to your and Lex’s love, wonderful.
Then, there is the silence in the middle; wonderful, sweet silence. Others may read Silence and see a good poem. It speaks to me, both the poem and the silence. We are much alike, except my mood music is in the minor keys. I think this is one of your best.
Sharp Little Pencil
Mike, coming from you, I take this compliment with great humility. There are many who understand the point of comments on blogs: You are one of them. I purposely put “Silence” in the middle as a respite between the other two. I will tell Lex you mentioned him as well. That’s a sweet thing to say, and yes, he is a wonderful man and the perfect partner in life.
Minor keys… oh, they have their place, and I often hear them when I write a certain way. But always, always, there is music in my head when I write poetry or prose. Lex calls it “The Music Of My Life”!
Thanks, my friend, Amy
Rosemary Nissen-Wade aka SnakyPoet
Yippee! to your Y poem.
The others are lovely too.
Sharp Little Pencil
Oh, that sneaky little Y is the G Spot of the trio!!! Thanks, Amy
David King
The Haiku ticks all the boxes, Y Not is clever, but my favourite has to be The One Single Impression. Superb!
Sharp Little Pencil
David, thanks for the haiku comment, because I read up and found that seasons and the way words sound are the heart of haiku – and you probably already knew that!
My favorite was also the “silence” poem, because it’s close to my heart, to my process, to my life. Of course all the women like “Y Not” the best!!! Haha and peace, Amy
MiskMask
I simply love that first one. Funny the things that remind us that we are home. I always recognise a certain scent, although I think it is actually fried food and hot grease. 😉 I smell it the instant we exit the arrival hall in the airport.
Sharp Little Pencil
Marilyn, you crack me up. I remember getting “home” when I hit Manhattan in my singing days meant smelling the diesel exhaust at the GW Bridge toll booths! Amy
Susannah
All wonderful! 🙂 But I was enchanted by . . .
“My silence possesses
a certain charisma.
Mood music melts my mind
in the key of D-flat.
As one’s eye might
perceive a heavy haze
on a lazy afternoon,
so I hear my silence.”
…Absolutely beautiful writing Amy! I love that.
Sharp Little Pencil
Susannah, I’m delighted with this compliment! Now, remember, when you find typos or things you think could use shoring up, I really want that feedback, too. Thanks so much, peace, Amy
Jess P
The third is fabulous! Love (and lust) can be so wonderful!
Sharp Little Pencil
I’m telling you, Jess, almost 100% of women commenting liked that one best. Gee, I wonder why? Lex’s ears must be burning with all the praises I sing about him. Perfect partner, all-around great guy, and, oh yeah, YOWZA!! (wink) Peace, Amy
mish
I loved the musical element in “One Single Impression” … especially the reference to D-flat *ouch* with 5 flattened notes … ?
Also enjoyed the fun take on the Y-poem … funky and upbeat !
Sharp Little Pencil
Funny thing about D-flat: Apparently a physicist/musician determined (damned if I know how) that the “universal tone,” or the tone that reverberates from all life, is D-flat. And since Billy Strayhorn composed one of my favorite songs, “Lush Life,” in that key, it seems right to me!
Yeah, the goilz are diggin’ the Yowza… (wink) Amy
akweelife
I enjoyed the swing from the poem of silence to the fun in shared love – and had a giggle when you clarified your first name is not “Sharp” 🙂 So much in both of those two I could find connection with. I appreciate how you convey so much emotion, but you don’t “over word” it. There is such a clean purity to your writing, its not cluttered. I don’t have to read it five times and still guess at the meaning or what you are saying or conveying. I can simply read it, get it and enjoy it. To me, all of that, is true tallent.
Thank you for sharing it.
Sharp Little Pencil
Kwee, this is a wonderful thing to say to any poet, and I thank you. The order of the three “acts” of the post was intentional… haiku, more serious, then a little dessert, if you will.
For the past three years, I’ve been working at snipping, editing, trying to get rid of the dross (while retaining the “gross” when necessary, ha ha). My first drafts are always “what comes out of my mouth,” or how I would speak. The challenge is whittling, and as my knife gets sharper, so does my pencil. Thank you so much for all the kind words you share with me, Kwee. And please, if you come across typos (like when I wrote “pushing my cat” instead of “pushing my cart” the other day!) or anything that would help me tighten the form or draw out more meaning, let me know. I have ZERO ego when it comes to criticism. Peace, Amy
Renee Espriu
All three fun and full of what ‘ifs’! I like them all, Amy! :::::::::::::::::::::0
Sharp Little Pencil
Renee, just looked at both replies and I WILL NOT tell you what the first “smiley” looked like, except that it resembled the Yowza poem. I am on the floor, laughing out loud! Love it. Never stop trying to be cute, Renee – if you do, you’ll start to grow old!! Amy
Renee Espriu
See what happens when you try to be cute! :O
becca givens
I appreciate all three of your selections … these days I especially relate to the following two phrases
My silence possesses a certain charisma
and
so I hear my silence
Thank you for sharing ~~
Sharp Little Pencil
Becca, thank you. Isn’t it interesting how one can “hear” silence? Now I’m thinking of Simon and Garfunkel, “and echo in the sounds of silence.” I wasn’t consciously thinking of them when I wrote this, either, but now I realize Paul Simon was rattling around there somewhere! Peace, Amy
Doctor FTSE
A new word! “Yowza” – and three excellent pieces. What a morning I’m being given!
My piano teacher seriously believes that if you rewrite a piece nominally in D flat major (say Chopin’s “Minute” waltz) in the enharmonically equivalent C sharp major, it will sound different. Is that a yowza or what?
Sharp Little Pencil
Who ARE you? I’m sending an email. I’m almost completely self-taught both as a singer and pianist, so I’m dying to know what this means!
Your humble servant in lyrics and music, Amy
Lafemmeroar
Sexy and funny … my kind of poetry 🙂
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks, Femme. Left one about Amy WInehouse on the CC blog… 😉 Amy
Madeleine Begun Kane
I enjoyed all of them and especially liked the musical reference.
Sharp Little Pencil
Yes, it’s an odd but interesting fact that the universe apparently runs in the key of D-flat! Thanks, Mad. Peace, Amy
Francisca
Even though I the tropics home, I so relate to your haiku. It’s spot on. Every now and then I must go to a place with a brilliant fall. Very much enjoyed all three poems, so different, but each a rich story of its own.
Sharp Little Pencil
Francisca, welcome to my blog, and thank you for leaving such a nice comment. Yes, the tropics were home for many years – Bermuda and San Juan, both wonderful places to be, but I did miss the change of seasons so much… I’ll check your blog now and find out more about you! Peace, Amy