Where I’m Comin’ From
Look back at the burbs
White enclave; promise of the GI Bill
Manicured lawns, manacled wives who
drank a dram during the drudgery of
The Soap Trinity (Laundry, Dishes, The Edge of Night)
We were their kids, who tried not to notice
We ran scattersplat wild and messy as anything
Hair flying, legs booblaboobla gearing up to race
Kickball, swimming, badminton in a harsh breeze
Barbies hunted Nazis in the woods (we had badass dollies)
Anything was possible; everyone was some shade of pale
…except when my family hosted a jazz party
Singin’ & Sippin’ – white was not a prerequisite
for fitting in; all that mattered was the lushlife music
Screw being eight, ditch that perfect smooth hopscotch stone
Pocket a church key, cuz beer bottles will need opening
and the grownups’ll be too drunk to open their own
Time for goldenbronze fortunes to be shouted and whispered
© 2015 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
The prompt at dverse Poets was “Where Are Your From?” We all wrote a poem about the soil from which each of us sprang. Mine dawdled at home base for our kickball game; but eventually, I found my way to the party. And in all honesty, once I’d found it, my heart never left! Amy
Sharp Little Pencil 
Polly
‘Hair flying, legs booblaboobla gearing up…’ – how to capture a moment – marvellous Amy 🙂
sharplittlepencil
Thanks, Polly. I am getting better at onomatopoeia, hooray! A
kanzensakura
Wonderful. Oh how you captured so well. I could see and smell it all and those badass dollies gave me a smile. The sadness of that Soap Trinity – yes, indeed. Marvelous and profoundly touching.
sharplittlepencil
Thanks so much for visiting and commenting, Kanzensakura! Will head over now to see what’s up at your address. Amy
whimsygizmo
So many fun words and sounds in here, Amy.
My fave:
“We ran scattersplat wild and messy as anything”
sharplittlepencil
Ha, De, you and I like the same sillies, the wordplay. Coming by to see you! Amy
Sherry Blue Sky
How I loved reading this, with a big smile, can see those skinny legs boobla boobla, and the figuring out the music at the party was the place to be……….the Desperate Housewives you painted spot-on………..Loved this.
sharplittlepencil
Sherry, thanks so much. I knew you would like the onomatopoeia! And yes, Desperate Housewives, a great comment. Our street had “little houses made of ticky-tacky,” and each kitchen had just such a woman. Amy xo
MarinaSofia
You did have badass dollies – I loved that! A jaunty, jazzy poem making fun of that suburban environment.
sharplittlepencil
Thanks so much for commenting, Marina Sofia! Hee hee, yes, all our dollies were pieces of work, for sure, because of their owners! Thanks for the “jazzy” comment, because I’m all about the jazz… Amy
myrna
You certainly are a sharp little pencil! I love all your creative words and sounds that give this poem so much vivid imagery and character. I had fun reading this. It makes me see you as a sharp and witty woman.
sharplittlepencil
Myrna, what a nice comment! Thanks for taking time to share your thoughts and for the compliment. Most of all, I am glad you had fun reading this, because I wrote it with a smile on my face. Amy
Suzanne
What a rollicking, wild and free rush of words from your sharp little pencil. Very sharp indeed yet happy and joyous too.
sharplittlepencil
Thanks so much, Suzanne! As I wrote to Myrna, I was smiling when I wrote it. Isn’t it great when what you intended reaches the reader? amy
Björn Rudberg (brudberg)
Wonderful.. the intensity of the childhood games and Barbie hunting for Nazis jumped out at me.. as did the manicured — manacle pairing that just turned out like a brilliant way describing the suburbean housewife..
sharplittlepencil
Bjorn, I admit I was rather proud of “hearing” that manicured/manacle part. It popped up in my mind and I grabbed it. Usually I hear those things at 3 am and am sure I will remember them in the morning… Amy
Roger Green
I used to watch The Edge of Night and Secret Storm with Grandma Williams and her sister Deana after school.
sharplittlepencil
Oh, yeah! Channel 12 was the only station our antenna could get out in Apalachin, so I was a CBS baby. Mom (and later, Auntie Ruth) and me catching Lawrence Luckingbill and the gang when I came home from school. I can still hear the announcer: “The EDGE …” (dramatic pause) …”of Night!” Ha ha. Amy
Gabriella
I like the way you hinted at the negative behind the bright facade.
sharplittlepencil
Thanks, Gabriella. I don’t often get comments about my subtlety, so I may frame this one!! Amy
Mary
You really told it like it was, Amy, and that (of course) is what you always do. I smiled at Laundry, Dishes, and The Edge of Night. Only those of us who’ve ‘been there’ perhaps can identify with the latter. LOL. The last stanza sheds light on a bit of the ‘truth’ behind the manicured lawns.
sharplittlepencil
Thanks so much, Mary. Yes, there was a ton of truth behind the facade. We all felt it, and many take forever to give that truth a voice. Here’s hoping we can all speak our truth and rid ourselves of the “manacles” of the past. Then we can embrace the good stuff freely! Amy
claudia
oh my – if the adults cannot open their own beerbotteles anymore it sure gets serious…smiles… and now i need to find out what badass dollies are…
sharplittlepencil
LOL, Claudia! Badass dollies are what we see when we look in the mirror!! And yes, you caught the importance of my job as a child… tending to drunks. Yikes! Amy
billgncs
reminds me of when we parked cars for the lodge once and then took their whiskey bottles out of their cars… what were we thinking? Maybe kids just don’t sometimes.
sharplittlepencil
Kids may not know, but adults? Absolutely clueless, ha ha. Thanks for stopping and sharing your thoughts and memories! Amy
Sumana Roy
what a fascinating sketch of those cherished moments!!
sharplittlepencil
Thanks, Sumana. Coming to see you now! Amy
zongrik
screw being eight is interesting cuz a lot of suburb parents forget their kids are kids and don’t let them play. is that what you were trying to say?
My Brain is a Cheap Gadget That Spins
sharplittlepencil
Now that is a good reader, one who questions the poet. Thanks. Actually, I meant “I may be only eight, but that doesn’t stop me from playing with the grownups.” But I understand that interpretation, and it reads well in my mind! Thanks, Amy
ihatepoetry
Sing it, you postwar jazz baby. I always thought I was born ten years too late. This just confirms it – love for Ameleh! Mosk
sharplittlepencil
Ha ha ha, you are the “little brother.” Postwar Jazz Baby, the new alternate name for this blog! Love you, Mosk. Ameleh
vbholmes
Great description of life in the post World War II housing developments of America where the GI bill opened home ownership to many young families and Nazis still lived in the imaginations of children. Well done.
sharplittlepencil
I did not make that post-WWII connection of Nazis and GI Bill houses until you wrote this! Thanks so much for pointing out a moment I didn’t intentionally create… I guess it created itself by natural extension. Thanks! Amy
kaykuala h
Anything was possible; everyone was some shade of pale
…except when my family hosted a jazz party
How much fun was it in the younger days. Carefree and doing our own thing within ourselves. This is taking it many years back. Thanks for the memories Amelita!
Hank
sharplittlepencil
Hank, so glad to hear your voice in the comments! I love how you sort of indulge yourself in poetry, really swim in it and hold up the best bits. You bring your best self to reading, as you do to writing. Love, Amelita
lynn__
All was not as it seemed in post-war suburbia…sharp, sad that adults chase golden-bronze fortunes to oblivion. But you seem tough enough to handle them!
sharplittlepencil
Thanks, Lynn. I hope I was tough enough, even though I was an awfully easy cry when I was a kid! Amy
Sanaa
Loved this exquisite piece…! ❤
So heart-felt & intense 🙂
xoxo
sharplittlepencil
Sanaa, thanks for a wonderful comment. Coming to see you now! Amy xo
Mindy
Enjoyed reading your pieces,