Charmed Life


Broken

Pop Bead Girl

I grew up jealous
of charm bracelet girls
wearing open books
around their wrists.

I coveted their hearts,
cheerleaders, music notes,
four leaf clovers, celebrations.

I was a pop bead girl,
plastic noise in a break apart world.
Secrets couldn’t be polished into silver.


 ©Susie Clevenger 2016

________________________________

Silver Lining


Comments

Sherry Blue Sky said…
Oh! My! Goodness! I LOVE this! I remember those charm bracelets, so far removed from my not-charming life. I, too, was a pop bead girl, I had forgotten pop beads till I read your poem......oh, Susie, how I relate! This is brilliant!
Sanaa Rizvi said…
The last line stole my heart!
Beautifully penned.

Lots of love,
Sanaa
Anonymous said…
I had forgotten also. Love this - charm bracelet girl, pop-bead girl kind of being.
Hannah said…
Oh wow...this resonates with me and I love your closing image with poem...what an excellent idea! Thank you for the challenge, Susie!
Anonymous said…
Well, just wow!! you have perfectly captured the social cliques of that time. I was apop bead girl too.
De Jackson said…
Love love LOVE. Mine went this direction, too, but not nearly as beautifully. LOVE this: "wearing open books
around their wrists," and the piece encircled in the photo. Just fantastic.
Ellecee said…
I was a pop bead girl and felt as your gal did,,,but life later brought different gifts as your charm circle shows,,,
brudberg said…
I love it Susie.. though I cannot directly see it, I could observe those differences in the girls around me.
said…
This is awesome. I always found that charm bracelets were a good place to hide lies, like poems, I suppose. I had all kinds of charms on mine that had absolutely nothing to do with who I was or what I spent my time doing.
Outlawyer said…
Ah so clever and poignant. Thanks, Susie. K.
Rommy said…
I coveted charm bracelets too. LOL, I never did get a traditional one, but I like my Italian charm bracelet well enough.
Maude Lynn said…
Damn, Susie. This is just brilliant.
Gemma Wiseman said…
Charm bracelets were all the rage in my growing up days. Charms were a coveted gift at Christmas or birthdays and they would be added to the bracelet circle with great care. Love the twist of being a bead girl... the outsider.
hedgewitch said…
I agree with MZ, Susie--brilliant, and clear and breakable as glass, with little splinters that are so sharp and hard to remove. I saw the first stanza on FB yesterday and though it was a great poem, but seeing the rest of it is even more mind-blowing. thanks also for the challenge, which got me writing.
Oh, that was me too – all of it.
grapeling said…
punk rock poet you are, Susie... ~