No, that’s not the name of a poem… We really ARE on vacation for a couple of days.
I’ll be posting again next Monday! In the meantime, if it’s snowing where you are, I wish you light, fluffy snow that won’t break your back when you shovel. And if it’s sunny, don’t forget your SPF 85!!
Peace, Amy
PATIENT FISHER
Dad, Uncle Tommy, and Grandpa Bill
invited me to go fishing with them
I was only five and quite honored
Turned out I was in charge of the beer
Keeping it tied to the rowboat
immersed in the chill of the lake
They whispered their jokes and told me
that fishing is all about patience
Tossing out the line and waiting for a nibble
If you didn’t get a fish the first time, you tried again
You grow up, you adapt those lessons learned
to your adult life
In matters of faith, I remain a patient fisher
Living each day as though I’m tossing out a line
quietly, calmly, carefully
If someone nibbles, I let them
If they grab the line with gusto, I share my journey
And sometimes, if the water is just right
We float in a rowboat side by side
quietly chatting, sharing what God has offered us
© 2010 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
From the Poetic Asides prompt, “Setting The World On Fire.” Remembering some great gigs!
JAZZ AFIRE
Spotlight’s hot tonight
Fresh coffee on the side table
My fingers touch the cool ivories
and all hell breaks loose
Thumping the bass line
Reaching deep, drawing out
the raw fire of jazz within
Souls of legends aflame as I call to them:
Feed my soul, strike the match
Light a fire under my piano bench
til I burn with desire to shout it true
Til the keys melt at my touch
Hellzapoppin at this piano bar
Crowd heats up and calls for more
Coffee’s cold, neglected
but I’m a pyre of pure jazz afire
(c) 2010 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
Dear friends,
Thank you for hanging out at my blog. I’m on a trip West by car and then back by train. ADVENTURE!
My new chapbook, DANCE GROOVE FUNHOUSE, will be available beginning Sept 1. It’s full of adventure, stories of childhood, fond remembrances of my tone-deaf (and rhythmically challenged) father, some loony stuff… in short, it’s me coming at you with some GROOVE!
To quote the immortal Four Seasons:
Will I see yooooooou
In September
Or lose you
To another blog?
(Hope not!)
Peace, love, harmony, and the best vibes Creation can supply, Amy
We were asked to write a poem incorporating song titles from our favorite albums. Showing my age here, but…
AMERICAN BOOKENDS
Voices of old people in the park
Old friends haunted by a hazy shade of winter
At the zoo, Punky’s dilemma lingers
as Mrs. Robinson cries, “Save the life of my child!”
Like it or not,
we’re all fakin’ it in America
Our lives are bookends:
Beginnings and overs
but mostly
overs
© 2010 Amy Barlow Liberatore
from all-time fave album (vinyl) Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bookends”
From my friend Buddah Moskowitz. Sometimes it’s a good idea to ask straightforward questions of friends and fellow poets, so please recopy this list to Word, add responses, and comment! I’ll do the same for you.
01) Are you currently in a serious relationship?
02) What was your dream growing up?
03) What talent do you wish you had?
04) If I bought you a drink what would it be?
05) Favourite vegetable?
06) What was the last book you read?
07) What zodiac sign are you?
08) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where.
09) Worst Habit?
10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride?
11) What is your favourite sport?
12) Do you have a Pessimistic or Optimistic attitude?
13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?
14) Worst thing to ever happen to you?
15) Tell me one weird fact about you.
16) Do you have any pets?
17) What if I showed up at your house unexpectedly?
18) What was your first impression of me?
19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary?
20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?
22) What colour eyes do you have?
23) Ever been arrested?
24) Bottle or can soda?
25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it?
26) What’s your favourite place to hang out at?
27) Do you believe in ghosts?
28) Favourite thing to do in your spare time?
29) Do you swear a lot?
30) Biggest pet peeve?
31) In one word, how would you describe yourself?
32) Do you believe/appreciate romance?
33) Favourite and least favourite food?
34) Do you believe in God?
35) Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?
Of all sources, this one spoke to me with dignity and a bit of whimsy!
BELLY BUTTON
Fetal feeding
Umbilical cord
Source of nutrition
and of comfort
Baby born
Cord falls away and
a belly button is created
Innie or outie
Great for gazing
when depressed
Fun to fill with chocolate syrup
during sex
When you’re young
It is quite round
During pregancy
It disappears along with your waistline
When you’re old
It inverts from years of living
and frowns at you (
from the dreaded mirror
© 2010 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
Another Sunday Scribblings prompt on the “life swap” theme. I’ve always marveled at women who really had it together. I’m of the frazzled variety, and coming from a show business family, I wondered about those amazing corporate women who make their way in “a man’s world.” So this is a composite of several women I know – not quite Joan Crawford, not quite Eve Arden, but somewhere in between…
A Woman of Distinction
The woman is serenely composed
as she glides through the office
Her confidence, no disguise
No butterflies occupy her stomach
as she presents the new marketing plan
She’s well turned out, head to toe
Tastefully dressed, impeccably accessorized
The uniform of the sincerely driven
She’s punctual, tactful, precise
Respected by all in every way
She fears neither boss nor client
Her work ethic exceeds that of the CEO
One day, she will occupy his corner office
He told her as much over scotch and water
in the Executive Dining Room last week
Never had to sleep her way to the top
Worked hard to climb the corporate ladder
Started as an associate in Accounts
She knows the names of everyone
from the elevator guy to the whole cleaning crew
Raised by a single mother on the Lower East Side
They were always reading, writing, creating, talking
Mama showed her daughter how to get along with anyone
and now the little girl, grown up, repays the debt
as her mother basks in the Florida sun, a phone call away
© 2010 Amy Barlow Liberatore, Sharp Little Pencil
A PRAYER FOR THE ONE WHO WATCHES AND WAITS
She sits
She waits for the nurse’s words of – assurance?
Reversing crossed legs, she rehearses responses
for the outcome of this round
Doors part, she holds her breath, guards her heart
and exhales as the news pours forth
He’s stable, able to speak, to move
Readying himself for the next step in the process
the peculiar art of surviving survival
But she
knows the names of every nurse on every shift
And she
knows the feel of styrofoam against her lips
the acid burn of instant coffee
The gelatinous gruel they call gravy
instant whipped condensed processed creamy cafeteria mashed potatoes
(damn, forgot to bring my muesli…)
She watches and waits and can’t using her cell phone
She sits on a plastic chair in a sweltering waiting room
with a flat-screen TV bigger than an MRI
Idol’s on
She stares without seeing, numb
hoping for good news to come
She’s alone for now
She likes it that way, when people stay away
they say they pray for him every day
She sits. She waits. She prays.
And God watches over her tonight
by the light of a fluorescent full moon
(c) 2010 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
Sharp Little Pencil 