To-Do List
Scour bathtub, walls, etc.
Set aside bubble bath
Find candles, matches
Freeze sundae glasses
Find Sinatra mix CD (Reprise cuts, Jobim bossas)
Run hot bath, extra bubbles
Kick off sneaks, rinse stinky feet, etc.
Brush teeth
Boot up sound system, insert mix CD
Call Lex, tell him come home ASAP
Pour Capital Amber into sundae glasses
Set beers, candles on table by tub
Put cat in closed room with treats
Hit “Play”
Greet Lex at door (red nightgown?)
Let nature take course
© 2014 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
“Candle” by Christoph Michels – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Shay’s “Fireblossom Friday” at Imaginary Garden With Real Toads challenged us to make a list, any list that spoke to us. I’ll be away for two days and when I come home, I will have just missed Lex, who’s attending his family reunion this weekend, so…
…this was the only list worth making. ;^) Hope Y’ALL have a fun night! Peace, Amy
Lessons Learned
I used to be approached by men
who were little more than boys
regarding me as made for them
like all their other toys
I used to see the handsome ones
who knew they looked so good
and acted thus; not calling back,
their conduct understood
I used to be a looker, then
when looking was to be done
For all the fun I could’ve had
I’ve had more peace with one
So wait for him, whose gaze rests not
upon your boobs, but your eyes
Who listens and responds in kind
For there your wellspring lies
© 2013 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
Suzy, who stopped by my blog and commented (I rarely reply, but rather visit the blogs as a practice), had a prompt of her own from “Verse First,” and it was to write of a lesson you learned. You can find other links HERE, but this was the best lesson of all for me. It gave me Lex.
This is also ‘in the margins’ on the sidebars of Poets United and Imaginary Garden With Real Toads. Peace, and hoping you all find your true love, Amy
Let’s Get Lost
Fingers interlaced
Candles placed, optimum glow,
because we know:
Sex may be the province
of novice lovers
(all sweat and victory)
Lasting love meanders
Loses track
Edges slowly toward lava
Sighs
…and stays
© 2012 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
(Inspired by my wonderful husband Lex – 15 years this April!)
For Trifecta: Poem in exactly 33 words, using “Lost” in the title but not within the 33-word poem. A special Hell has been created for poets who refer to the TV show “Lost,” in any way, shape, or form.
Also hangin’ with my crowd at Poets United in the right-hand column.
From A Wordling Whirl of Sundays, Brenda Warren’s creation. Prompt words in bold. Also at my poetry resting and nesting place, Poets United. Peace to all, Amy
Renata’s Scarves
Renata’s scarves hold exotic stories.
One reveals a temple, columns casting shadow on light.
A gossamer veil with sparks in its threads
etches a pattern that glints when held to the lamp.
But the most telling of all:
A tangled sky-blue sheath, slit down the center,
where his knife cut clear to her thighbone.
Demons and diamonds,
serpents and stardust.
© 2011 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
Sunday Scribblings asked for poems about “opportunity.” This is actually destined to be a country=tinged song when I finish it, but the beginning seems made for the prompt. Also, Three Word Wednesday used the words Grip, Thread, and Prefer; this is my second poem for that prompt! Click on the poetry site links to read many more poets.
Also found at my poetic home, Poets United. Peace to you all, Amy
FOR SUNDAY SCRIBBLINGS
That’s How it Goes
Here’s how it goes, once in a while
The boy takes a shine to the girl with the smile
They waltz ’round the dance floor, and he takes a dare:
Says the sun was created to shine on her hair…
And her eyes seem to say what her heart already knows,
and that’s how it goes.
(c) 2011 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
FOR THREE WORD WEDNESDAY:
Open Mic (haiku)
Caught in the grip of
uncertainty’s clenched fist
Sweat pearls on her brow
At the podium,
words threaded into poems…
Fight or flight? She thinks:
“I’d prefer to flee
but I’m already up here.”
Breathe. Exhale. Give out.
(c) 2011 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
For Poets United, Thursday Think Tank, we were asked to think about the beach. I’ve lived in Santa Monica, where many nights were spent on the beach (under various influences); Bermuda, where the sand really IS pink… but for my money, there was a romance in the salt air of Puerto Rico that remains unmatched. No offense to Bermuda or LA! Amy
THE BEACH AT SAN JUAN
San Juan beach at twilight
Strolling barefoot on cool sand
Sandals looped round my finger
Arm round the waist of a sweet soul
Head resting on his shoulder
We stop to regard the city from this place
The casinos at full tilt, the street filled with tourists
Then, as lovers do, we turn away and disregard
the frantic pace and rumble of night life
to discover and rediscover the essence of closeness
The sky holds a sliver of silver, stars shining all the more
for the moon’s modest reflection
Tide moving gently, water licking our toes
We sit in silence/not silence
Rhythm of a shared heart
Swish of Corona sipped from bottles
Breeze playing brushes on tall palms
air tinged with salt and
heavy with jasmine
filled with promise
© Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
What can I say? Three Word Wednesday asked for poems with the words Grin, Jumble, and Naked. So first a little fun, and then… a little more fun. Peace, Amy (Also posted at my fave poetic collective, Poets United.)
Rugby Gone Wrong
Post-rugby match, Stan, with a grin,
said, “Never mix scrumming with gin:
From deep in the jumble
We heard someone mumble,
‘Good Lord, I’m as naked as sin!’”
© 2011 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
““““““““““““`
Time Goes By
They mesh peacefully
‘neath sheets weathered
from years of laundering
He grins; her finger traces the deep lines
engraved from years of laughter and from struggle,
the hardscrabble jumble of their lives together
Her naked breasts sag off to the side
She doesn’t care; he thinks she’s as lovely a lass
as ever a man was blessed to wed.
© 2011 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
Brenda’s Wordle at Beyond The Bozone including silver, phrase, forever, scars, crescendo, crude, recount, perfume, message, and bottle; also, this works with Poetic Asides’ “Message in a Bottle.”
Cobalt Blue Bottle
Auntie Ruth’s perfume in a cobalt blue bottle
embossed with the phrase, “April in Paris.”
Twirling open the fluted silver cap,
I’d sneak a sniff.
Stronger than a crescendo of crude
on a Texas Tuesday,
the scent still held a message
of forbidden romance (one that might leave scars).
Recounting those afternoons
I used to while away
in Ruthie’s room…
Memories I’ll treasure forever.
© 2011 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
You can also see this poem at my NaPoWriMo site, Writer’s Island, and, as always, at Poets United. Check out these poets!
Well, a poet named honey haiku started a new (not exclusively haiku) prompt, The Eyelet Review, so I decided to try it out. It seems to be “any forms, anything” for now, at least, but I used the lovely portrait she employed for her poem, “Dalliance,” and tried a different twist. Hope honey likes it!
It's all about role-playing!
Masquerade
Here we are again
Frolicking with no end in sight
This week, we decided to go Bodice-Ripper
and recline here in the woodland
posing as for a portrait
I’ll bet no one would guess
my wicker basket is filled with
chocolates and brandy
crackers and cheese
and several edible condoms!
© 2011 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
EN-credible! I managed to combine two – count ’em – two prompts in one poem. Others do this all the time; however, I hadn’t had the inspiration until Three Word Wednesday and ABC Wednesday threw a nice, juicy grapefruit over the plate for me.
Three Word Wednesday gave us Blink, Kind, and Occasion; ABC concentrated on the letter E. Hence the bits in BOLD. Enjoy, and be sure to click on the links above to check out the takes of my fellow poets! Amy
The Ecstasy of Agony
An eclectic gathering, the occasion being
Ethelyn’s engagement to Egbert
(AKA Egghead behind his back)
Ethelyn, an exquisite, educated person.
What possessed her to choose entanglement
of the permanent kind to this egomaniac?
Savvier than we envisioned,
she eventually emptied her life of his eccentricities;
in the blink of an eye, single once more.
Then along came Edmund the entomologist…
© 2011 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
Sharp Little Pencil 