CHANTEUSE DELUXE (have a listen, then read the poem)
What drives her to carry on so?
No limit to grandiose gestures:
Hand thrust heavenward as she
sings of graces she cannot touch
(yet seems to know well).
Delivery of gut-bucket blues,
growled, a feral cat in heat.
Singing is her salvation;
her masquerade; her comfort;
her inherent, inherited blessing
(born of a curse).
Tapping into sources of drama
most would never dare; airing
her truth with power, to power
(and always with a whimsical smile).
Striding through dark, abandoned
psychic hallways and caverns
where others might tiptoe
(their flashlights, shivering beams).
Her early demons gifted her,
then she was lifted from hell
by an undercurrent of free-flowing jazz.
She follows in footsteps of her people
(unhinged but brutally honest souls).
She is compelled to prize a pearl
(from the slimiest of shells).
© 2012 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
PROCESS NOTES: A barlette is my own creation; this one has a longer form. Normally, the barlette runs three lines plus (a commentary line). This long forms allows more flexibility before the comment line.
PERFORMERS: Carol Ackley is a longtime and very dear girlfriend who was coaxed to the mike for an impromptu duet; we had not sung together in years. “Since I Fell For You” is one of my favorite standards. Sax solo is by the great reed man/percussionist/composer/musical powerhouse Rob Weinberger, who is also my former husband and father of our little Drummer Girl and artist, Riley Dunn.
PROMPTS: For Sunday Scribblings #311 (honest) and The Sunday Whirl: Carry, Singing, Follows, Drives, Hallways, Drama, Limit, Gestures, Hand, Delivery, Inherent, Sources, Previous, Drives.
Sharp Little Pencil 
Debbie
What a complete package this was . . .you are, Amy! I loved getting to hear and see you and Carol. Wonderful poem, wonderful woman!
Sharp Little Pencil
Carol is indeed a dear friend… we reconnected after years apart, on different continents, a couple of years back. Friends since high school! Had to coax her to the mic, and she has such a rich, soulful voice. Thanks, Deb! Peace, Amy
vivinfrance
That line “delivery of gut-bucket blues” is a cracker! The poem is more powerful than the song.
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks! Yeah, I used to do a lot of growling blues but gave it up – too hard on my chops, really. The song is an old Lenny Welch-penned standard; Bonnie Raitt did my favorite version. Thanks, Viv. Peace, Amy
Mariya Koleva
I really enjoyed the “free-flowing jazz”-y rhythm of your poem, Amy! Truly amazing1
Best, M.
Sharp Little Pencil
Mariya, so nice to be back in touch. This poem flowed out of my pen quite naturally. I love to use music as a source; even though I didn’t write this old standard, it’s a favorite, and I love to put old friends on the spot to offer a tune when I’m on a gig! Peace, Amy
geraldine snape
Great poem and great post …love the jazz! I caught the meaning in the words as I sing a bit too and loved it!
Sharp Little Pencil
Oh, it’s a great old standard. Are you a piano/lounge person as well? Hard these days to have a listening audience, so I don’t really gig much. I need that concentration. Back in the day, you could sing “Cottage for Sale” or some other quiet, intense song and the audience would actually listen! Peace, Amy
wolfsrosebud
I certainly sense you’ve lived this…
Sharp Little Pencil
As the song says, “Ever minute, every hour, every day,” for over thirty years! Thanks, hon. Amy
brian miller
unhinged but brutally honest souls…smiles…i think in some ways we all are a little unhinged you know…and music is such a wonderful tool to convey those emotions…and get them out as well…love it ma’am
Sharp Little Pencil
Thank you, sir (wink). Unhinged was the interesting word in this poem, and it’s certainly a quality I’ve always had and have used to good effect, both musically and as an activist!! (An Inconvenient Woman, ha ha)… Cheers and peace, Amy
julespaige
I really enjoy Jazz. I’ll have to come back and listen again. I used to have an all Jazz station, but about 6 months ago they went off the air. Now I have to resort to CDs. I haven’t found another station yet. So I listen to the ‘oldies’. I like your description of the Jazz Singer. I can see it fitting several both men and women. Very nice piece. Thanks.
Sharp Little Pencil
Jules, this is mostly about my career. So many emotions come to the fore…
As for jazz, do you have a computer? You can download ITunes for free and it comes with a plethora of radio stations, all streaming for free. You can sort by genre, etc. Think this might help, I have my Billie vinyls on the record player right now. Early Billie, at her best, before the “Strange Fruit” era when they made her an icon… her music suffered as her heroin addiction increased… Peace, Amy
julespaige
If I only had a brain…I haven’t too much of a clue yet about iTunes and downloading music. But I have someone coming to visit today who might be able to show me how to access music via the web. – Thanks,
Peace, Jules
Buddah Moskowitz (@ihatepoetry)
Wonderful poem and it was so delightful to see your performance. Very very cool, sistah. Yes, all we can do with all that “bad, bad shit” (as Lenny would call it) is make something beautiful – which am your stock in trade. I love you(r poetry/music), bruddah buddah
Sharp Little Pencil
Brudda,
My hope is that one day I can play for you and your beloved, a private salon, all jazz standards, romantic tunes, and a few I’ve written. That would be heaven for me, since you have given me so many gifts – like relating to my wacky self and understanding the music in my life – and virtualpoetryreading.com, which if ALL poets don’t phone in and read some of their work, I will be kicking ass and taking names, in that ORDER! Ha ha, love you – Ameleh
Semaphore / Samuel Peralta
This is a really strong poem, and I love the way you’ve presented as both the written and spoken word. I re-read it again with the perspective that it could be an ‘ars poetica’, and believe me, it worked really well that way. Bravo!
And… barlettes! My first time to see this, and already I love the form! Not all self-made poems feel as simple and ‘legitimately’ poetic, as this. Can’t wait to try one myself. 🙂
Sharp Little Pencil
Samuel, thank you so much for a touching comment. I respect your work greatly and am so honored that you like this. Glad you saw the contrast as well as the connection between the video clip and the poem. The clip came as an afterthought, but the “old standard” holds up after years of interpretation. The barlette is after my family name, Barlow. Holds a lot of possibility, especially since I liberated it from the strict Three Lines (one commentary line). Let me know if it works for you! Peace, Amy
zongrik
the end is reeeeeleeeeee descriptive. i can feel the slime.
Sharp Little Pencil
Yeah, nothing like shucking shit from slimy gooey crap!!! Glad the visceral nature of this got through… Peace, Z. Amy
julespaige
http://julesgemstonepages.wordpress.com/2012/03/23/tags-and-awards/
Just thought you’d like to know… (please go to the link…and all that jazz).
Cheers, Jules
Sharp Little Pencil
Jules, thanks for the tag, but I can barely keep up here. Just coming off a bronchial thing (happens every Spring) and getting as much in as I can! Appreciate the thought, hon. Peace, Amy
Renee Espriu
Looks like you are still performing and loving it. Wonderfully written and I really do believe that music is healing and I’m so glad you found your elixir in Jazz. Bravo!
Sharp Little Pencil
Renee,
Thirty-plus years in clubs until I was secondhand-smoked out. I know my way around any piano, no matter how badly out of tune. I force it to do my will, hee hee. Yes, it’s a great outlet, but since poetry has consumed me, that’s most of my time. Haven’t had time to try to break into the Madison scene musically – plus the gigs start too darned late for me. Thanks so much, peace, Amy
kaykuala
A whole package packed into this! Beautiful post Amy! There’s so much into this that it merits revisits. I would! The process notes inclusion is classic! Great music and great write!
Hank
Sharp Little Pencil
Hank, you can thank Lenny Welch for the song, a classic. Carol had to be coaxed into singing and I’m so glad she did. For a person who is not a professional by trade, she certainly knows her way around a song, huh? We have been friends forever, too, so that only sweetened the deal.
I don’t usually include process notes, but since this is a form of my own and I revamped it to make a longer version, I felt it worth the time. Glad you liked that as well. Peace! Amy