WARNING: NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART
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Two different views of the same woman – one from across the room, one within. A true story, based on experiences with a multiracial social justice group. Eventually, we came to an understanding… Amy
Dissonance: The Races, We Run
See that white lady
She so smug, so set
Grew up in suburbs
Daddy workin a steady job
Mom at home, waiting for kids from school
See that white lady
She grew up with privilege
No latchkey, no projects, no “free lunch” line
She told me they had a pool out back with sharks in it
What the hell she talkin
See the same white lady, staring in the mirror
See her take all those prescription drugs
to keep it together, 50 years after the fact
After the house on the cul de sac
Watch her heaving sobs in the therapist’s office
‘Cause some nights, the swimming ended and
The Shark grew lungs and feet and
a heavy, stumbling footfall
He’d open her bedroom door
and feast
Peel back the siding of the placid ‘burbs
Tread carefully the manicured lawns
Pick up a spyglass, examine the nasty underbelly
Throw open the drapes at midnight
Breathe deep – the stench of incest and vermouth
© 2012 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
Also for ABC Wednesday (brought to you by the letter “D”) and, as always, Poets United.
Sharp Little Pencil 
Poetry & Icecream
Oh wow Amy! So powerful! The message comes across well and the last stanza is brilliant. I went from feeling envious to compassion. We look at people and imagine what their lives are like but we have no idea! Well done!!!!
Sharp Little Pencil
It goes both ways, Norma: Some people look at you and make assumptions. We need to look one another in the eye more closely, engage those unlike us in conversation to find out how LIKE us they really may be. Thanks so much for a great comment. Amy
Roger Green
We often see each other so DIFFERENTLY that we see ourselves.
ROG, ABC Wednesday team
Sharp Little Pencil
We point a finger, three more are pointing right back at us. Just a reminder to myself, as I tend to be extremely prejudiced against bigots! Amy
Debbie
Amy . .. hard subject, but outstanding writing. Thank you.
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks, Deb, and yes, a hard subject indeed…
oncealibrarian
Wow – that’s powerful. An ideal little poem to read to a counselling class.
Sharp Little Pencil
Yikes, you read it first and let me know how it goes. I’m never sure which of my writings would help and which would further scar… thanks, I’m coming your way to check out your blog. Peace, Amy
Paula Scott Molokai Girl Studio
It stings with truth, but not limited to the ‘burbs. 1 out of 4 b4 13 is a staggering statistic, but no one wants to be an activist 4 that-but would rather be an activist 4 animal rights. Children have fewer advocates than animals.
Great prose! Love it.
Welcome back.
Sharp Little Pencil
That divvies up the world between us. Your take the four-legged ones and I’ll take the two-legged ones… and stand up to the ones who ACT like they have four legs!! I agree, not limited to the burbs, but this was the group of women’s opinion about me at the time. Further dialog helped us all get over a lot of preconceived notions. Amy
MISH
At the end of the day, it’s perception, perception, perception.
Walk a mile in a man’s shoes before you pass judgement – it works both ways…
NOBODY has a perfect life – we all have our crosses to bear, the difference is the weight of each individual cross… and I always wonder about that aspect… or is that perception too?
Nice to read you again, Amy. Hope you are well! 🙂
Sharp Little Pencil
Mish, all is great, thanks for asking, except I’m so far behind answering comments!
I believe the weight of each person’s cross is the weight s/he can bear… it only feels too heavy when one forgets to ask for help, and that I cannot point a finger at anyone without three pointing right back at me! Amy
woih
Helo Amy,
intense..so accurately intense and revealing of what is happening behind the perfected appearances…and how are judgements are always so off the mark.
wonderful to be reading your thougths again
Sharp Little Pencil
Dennis, so glad to be back and to see you signature here. The whole question of race, of racism vs. prejudice, is usually raised in ugly ways, never constructive. My own daughter once said, while we were in Puerto Rico and her Jewish heritage gave her darker tan than mine, “Why do we have different skins, Mommy?” I told her that her dad was from Desert People, and everybody is some shade of brown. Too bad that, in America, that gradation makes all the difference… both ways, and within races. Amy
JulesPaige
Do we ever really know ourselves? I try to write from different views. I think sometimes I can capture even just a glimmer of what someone else might have thought, felt, seen, lived. I’ve written from the view of a shaman, slave, survivor of war…perhaps I have been or will be all that I have written about. And if one verse can shed light, insight, and hope – then it was worth every constructed word.
Peace to you, Amy.
Sharp Little Pencil
Jules, thank you for a thoughtful reply. Your question is so true. Trying to put oneself in the shoes of another – it’s one thing if you’ve been an addict and kicked it but still see the junkie for the human being s/he is… but gradations of brown in one’s skin color? The best thing any Euro-American can do is move to a country where whites are in the minority. Then you find out what it’s like to be judged simply by appearance. Same with the homeless, et al. I appreciate your insights. Peace, Amy
brian miller
the things we dont see in others live…the grass is not always greener…sometimes the weeds are just a little better hidden…
Sharp Little Pencil
Brother, that word would preach all day, as we say in the church! Especially the “better hidden” part, which is very popular at country clubs and certain political rallies…
Inside the Mind of Isadora
You have conveyed strong and effective words in this. A very descriptive look at what others think they see. Open your eyes and you will see what is really there to see: if you dare.
I wrote a small little story on something that happened to me on vacation. It isn’t on this topic but I think it fits in with how people see others.
Always commanding writes ..
Love and Peace,
Izzy xoxox
http://insidethemindofisadora.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/weekly-photo-challenge-broken-love/
Sharp Little Pencil
Izzy, as always (az alwayz??), you are leaving me a direct link, and I appreciate it. When poems have similarities, or when poets seemed to drink from the same “Kool Aid” that week, it’s always helpful to go directly where the poet wishes. As for your comment, amen and amen. The “if you dare” part is most powerful, since I find most bigots live insulated, “just like me” lives and have no idea of other peoples, politics, or social norms… Bless you! Love, Amer
JulesPaige
Being fair skinned does not keep one from being a minority. Skin color and religious views run on parallel tracks. I have lived in places where both skin color and religious views have been in the minority. No one likes being singled out because they are different. The homeless and differently-abled people of all shades. Simple is a relative word. I think the best we can do in our objective of repairing the world is to take each other by the hand and smile genuinely when offering assistance. Heritage via country or religious can be a blessing, though sometimes a struggle. Hopefully a struggle we can live with, share and grow with.
Even in the same country peoples fight because of being born in the north or the south, on the mainland or the island. Education seems to help, but I think that compassion can also be one of the many keys we can use to getting along.
Peace, Jules
Sharp Little Pencil
Jules, you make an interesting case. There is “intelligence” or education; then, there is WISDOM. Wisdom is born of experience, while knowledge comes from second-hand sources (like bigoted parents or insulated lifestyles). Thank you for taking this poem to your heart and writing the rest of what I was trying to say. We are in agreement – I am a “little white girl” who lived in Puerto Rico for awhile and found it difficult to make friends with my neighbors until they discovered I spoke Spanish and honored their traditions, including el dia de Tres Reyes (Three Kings Day).
Add to that manic depression and the rest on my odd little palette and I find friends wherever I go. My only prejudice? Bigots!! Amy