While I am editing several poems on the public protest over workers’ rights here in Madison, I need to take a break and answer a call to a prompt. Too much politics leads to personal unrest, and self-care is a huge part of successfully managing my manic depression… so meditation and writing are a big help!
At We Write Poems, we were asked to write about “safe places.” I was a rover in my twenties, and these are but a few of the places were I laid my head to rest…
Safe Havens
An unheated, leaky garage at an old rocker’s compound
A couch in a flophouse
The egg-crate pads laid on the floor of a nudist commune
Haystacks in a barn, as we helped with the harvest
Marcia and Jesse’s closet, the door unhinged (as was I),
the most comfortable vortex of all…
The beach in Venice, where I lay under an umbrella of starts
watching the slivered silver moon dance through my tripping eyes
An SRO, hot plate heating Chunky Beef Soup
Looking back at these havens, all were safe
Some were filled with love.
others with the scent of cow patties
and the sweat of an honest day’s work.
And still others bore the sweetness of smoke
from Mendocino County’s finest…
© 2011 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
Sharp Little Pencil 
Kim Nelson
You’ve had yourself some worldly adventures! I’ve wandered little, making excitement in my own spaces and places.
I enjoy these posts of yours. They satisfy the voyeur in me!
Sharp Little Pencil
Oh, if it’s voyeurism you crave, I’ve got a collection… um, never mind!! 🙂
pamela
Amy, I love your honesty with this piece.
I especially like this:
“Marcia and Jesse’s closet, the door unhinged (as was I),
the most comfortable vortex of all…”
How nicely expressed.
Pamela
Sharp Little Pencil
They are real people with whom I am still in close contact. They have also befriended my daughter, Riley, our in California. Such peaceful, loving souls. Thanks, Pamelita!
Debbie
So thankful you were kept safe then and now. And . . .that writing is in a way, as safe haven for you too. Thank you for letting us read!
Sharp Little Pencil
Debbie, it’s so true. That turned up on a couple of folks’ blogs: The safe haven of writing. Thanks for saying that – for all of us! Amy
Judy Roney
Your poem makes me smile. Such a diverse list of safe places you have had and still have. I hope everyone has a list of safe places they can think about. I’m thinking…
Sharp Little Pencil
We all have safe places – mine are pretty colorful, I suppose!
Carl
This is really beautiful.
It reminds me that sometimes the most specific, detailed, personal stories are also the ones that can mean the most to other people. It’s something about the honesty of it, but also because our lives are so much this way – a series of details, small places, people that love or hate us. This is life, and life makes the most compelling stories.
Thank you for making the time to write this very thoughtful piece.
Sharp Little Pencil
Carl, your depth of detail in this comment shows how much you love poetry. It’s true – every moment is important, and the collection of things that are alike – havens, friends, certain locations where you might have been in danger, moments spent in nature – can become a whole world of beauty. I agree with you that real life “makes the most compelling stories.” Although I fried a few brain cells out in SoCal, I would not take the experience back for the world!
Peace, Amy
Irene
Amy, your list of past havens made me smile too. The penultimate stanza is great.
Sharp Little Pencil
Irene, thank you so much. Do you blog? I’d love to see some of your work. Peace, Amy
Madeleine Begun Kane
Lovely! What a fascinating collection of safe havens. With all that in your background, you’d have to be a poet. 🙂
Sharp Little Pencil
And before that, a jazz singer/songwriter/pianist. My share of gigs under my best… plus well-managed manic depression! I love your handle, “MadKane,” says volumes. Will visit – thanks for coming by! Peace, Amy
neil reid
I’m a sucker for list poems, but even that aside, so much is alluded by such briefest of images. Quite lovely. Good words. And I think this is both by poetic form and by content, just how we mostly experience so personal sense of safety in our lives. Not in the greater whole, but in the moments as you’ve so beautifully illustrated here. A leaky garage, couch, egg-crate pads, haystacks, all conjure up near magic from the ordinary here, and just where magic comes from I think. Very nicely done.
And best wishes with all your other work as well.
Sharp Little Pencil
Neil, bless you for your thoughtful compliments. I’m also a sucker for those lists! They help us conjure pictures in our minds that we may not have encountered ourselves (yet!). These are all real places (and Marcia and Jesse, real friends, after over 30 years!). I’m going over to your blog now, and thanks for the visit and the support! Peace, Amy
Michael Yost
Enjoyed the trip!
Sharp Little Pencil
Glad to provide the ticket, Michael! Amy