I lost a week in there with oral surgery (no, they didn’t sew my mouth shut, but I know of a few people who wish they had!). But I used last week’s Sunday Whirl words, which I will share with dverse and Imaginary Garden With Real Toads’ Open Link Monday.
My friend Rev. Tisha is working on a program concerning violence against women. Please feel free to forward poems to me by email – either paste the poem in the message or attach. Here is an example, and I can only say that, as a survivor of a different type of violence, these girls huddle in a corner of my soul. Peace, Amy
SECRET TO SURVIVAL
Three girls
torn from the cradle of mothers’ arms
peering past bad circumstances
The secret
to their survival in exile was the stories
Pry open clues with claws forged of need
Pile bits
of memory, tiny green apples
as unripe as they. Their rash hope:
that spirits
would comfort them as they endured
man after man on a filthy mattress
The spirits
were their only treasure, clutching and reciting
concocted tales of their shared princess-like past…
© 2013 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
Sharp Little Pencil 
Jim
I shuddered reading this one, Amy. No words.
I do hope you get some about relatives and trusted friends who are not worthy of ANY trust. And then date rape, spousal abuse, alcoholic submission, and statutory rape. I have a topic but perhaps I cannot write my true feelings about a (one of many) situation involving some deplorable male humor.
..
georgeplace2013
Amy, Wishing you a speedy recovery or a graceful attitude of endurance or both 🙂
Your poem is heartbreaking. Oh, that we didn’t have to live in such a world as this.
georgeplace2013
btw, georgeplace is me – Debi Swim
Sharp Little Pencil
Debi, unfortunately, I have bipolar disorder, which means I forget names all the time, part and parcel of the disease… so if I call you George, pls. don’t be offended!
georgeplace2013
Ha, I won’t be offended at all. I can’t seem to quite get my id to stay put when I post. But, George is fine – it is a family last name on my husband’s side.
Lisa A.Williams
Very moved by this poem, wonderful writing.
grapeling
Sad and poignant, Amy.
brian miller
the secret of their survival was the stories….when you are in abusive place you can feel so alone…and also like something must be wrong with you…the stories do bring some comfort….it turns my stomach to think of women that are put through this…i support a group, some friends that go in and rescue women in sexual slavery and teach them new trades…
Sharp Little Pencil
Why does your involvement with that group not surprise me? You are a constant source of inspiration, Brian. Amy
The Transcanada Poet
heart breaking but…if you reach out there are hands to grasp for support
Anne V
Shatteringly powerful.
vandana
alluring…….
Polly Robinson
Eeew – oral surgery – hope you’re feeling better now Amy xx
Steve King
Powerful lines, balanced, developed. Fine job. And I hope you recovery is moving along. Get well soon!!
margaret
Heavy subject… I don’t seem to be able to find your e-mail. Send it to me or you can find my poem for consideration here: http://margaretbednar-justmypoetry.blogspot.com/2012/04/scarlet-river.html
Kerry O'Connor
Good to see you back in the garden, Amy. I hope you are feeling better.
Sherry Blue Sky
Amy, hope you feel better soon. Your poem has such impact. I am glad they find some solace in the stories.
Audrey Howitt
Amy–sometimes words fail in the face of images that other words conjure–I have no words–but plenty of tears
I HAVE A VOICE
Spiritually destructiveness is a secret that seems to be facile to hide because we can’t always SEE it… but nobody who’s experienced these type of deaths always surface in a surfeited pain! You’ve carved it out discreetly & with untouchable sensibility ~ Hopefully you’ve been recuperating ~ Debbie
lupitatucker
Hate and like at the same time: hate the topic, like the way you treated it. Touched and moved by the sense of innocence at the hand of such violence. The sparse words are powerful and evocative.
Sharp Little Pencil
Welcome, Lupita. Yes, there are a lot of love it/hate what it deals with poems on my blog. You read it with absolute discernment. I am coming to your blog now. Amy
Jeep Walters
An incredible piece, Amy. The power in your pain translates into an inspired poem. Thank you for sharing this.
Susan
Powerful expose of one of too many lives. The story is a band aid–too small–but it is only the only lifeline.
ManicDdaily
Awful. (Well told.) But just awful. I keep thinking of the princess and the pea. So sad. I have something re honor killings I can try to send–I’ll try – k.
Susie Clevenger (@wingsobutterfly)
Such a painful thing told with such beauty. I know the horror of sexual abuse.
Sharp Little Pencil
Sister. Amen. Amy
Liz Rice-Sosne
Amy, so good to reconnect. Thank you for coming by. You spit this out with absolute grace! Incredible!
Steve E
I believe: The greatest sin of mankind is harming and/or abusing
helpless innocence…to me, unforgiveable. Most of these instances
remain secluded, hidden, in the minds of victims.
Thank you for (again) stirring our awareness to spot adult behaviors
which suggest such crimes might be occurring. We need also the courage to discreetly report what is seen, known, or suspected.
A line so special…
“Pry open clues with claws forged of need”
PEACE and LIGHT, Amy!
Sharp Little Pencil
Steve, I so appreciate the aspect of your comment that calls for action. I write these poems and try to point out to folks that here and now, we can each do something to help a kid whose face and gestures cry out for help. But you echo it and I know you will DO IT.
I live for these types of comments, Steve. Thank you so much. We must not tolerate abuse of anyone – especially our elders and our children. Peace, Amy
Wyoming Diva
I loved your poem. It strikes a chord with my childhood challenges, which I often write about as well. Especially like the line about ‘shared princess-like past’ – that’s me and my sisters. Thanks for sharing!
kimnelsonwrites
The shared princess-like past… hope it is enough to prop them up and bind them together. I met a little boy yesterday at the playground. Rough, tough, talking kill and hit and hurt. A little gentle attention and he rubbed against my side, practically purring with need. Reminded me that I always have the choice to love, be kind, encourage, incite positive change, even if in very little ways in tiny, little increments.
Sharp Little Pencil
First, it takes the noticing, and that’s where people like you and Jim and Brian excel (and many more). The willingness to put yourself out there and allow them in has saved many a child. I had adults around me to keep me sane, too. Thanks, Kim. A
Björn Rudberg (brudberg)
A sad and touching reality, and the worst part is that at the end of it are “ordinary” respected men… family fathers (maybe with own daughters)… I shudder at this.
wkkortas
Considering the piece’s source and antecedents, there is a remarkable…well, restraint is probably the wrong word, perhaps “revival” is better; the protagonists have a resilience, for better or worse, that refuses to give rise to a woe-is-me piece. The poem grits its teeth instead of shreiking, and (in my view, anyway) is better for it.
CC Champagne
How can something so grimy and horrible be described so beautifully? Shuddering and on the verge of tears here! Bravo!!!
ed pilolla
incredibly powerful. you balance that nightmarish world with the dreams of girls, making it incredibly alive with sorrow and honesty.
hope you are recovering well. mouth pain, no fun.
dreamingthruthetwilight
How poignantly you’ve conveyed their helplessness, Amy. Very, very touching.
Sara v
Oh, ow, ow, ow!! My heart. You have such a knack for putting the point on those poetic arrows so they go directly–bulls-eye, heart. I grieve for these girls everywhere. My sympathies for your mouth–oral surgery is no fun. And I’m glad you’re back 🙂
Shanice Nicole
Very moving! Nice work.