Size Five (and a Half)

       by all accounts                              by all accounts     

old shoes should be slung               old shoes should be slung

             out                                              out

 

  battered by trips of a                    with a flippant remark

    long weekend here                       of a worn out sole

    an afternoon there                      scuffs or frayed laces

   picking over pebbles                     for sturdy new boots

 slight salt water residue                 new days n' fresh ways

from that midnight paddle              with a hop or an idle skip

  sly smile footsie under                    but, cold feet aside,

   not so polite dinners                  there is the garden to do

dancing at an impromptu                   and these old shoes

       radio playing in                               are so very

          some café                                      comfy.

Author's Note

Shoes are such an emotional thing.

Reviews

[Chloe_Spence]

Brings back good memories.... nostalgia definitely :)
Love how you structured this :)

[Emily B]

they are, aren't they? and generally you can tell so much about us by the shoes we choose to wear . . .

[Alicante lullaby]

some shoey heaven...im touchy about mine too.

[Cara Rosalie]

Hi Narnie,

Gosh your name is fantastic...

Anyhow, I absolutely loved your poem. The structure, symbolism and semantics (sorry about my alteration, it was unintended) are flawless...How you manage to take a topic such as old shoes and wield it into emotion, makes me green with envy :) I love that your word choice is not over complicated. Frothy, flowery words would not have suited this piece at all. However, on the flip-side the words are anything but banal. Paddle, residue, footsie...I love it.

Side-note--I adore your "About" section. Is there anything more worthwhile, than raising caring, thoughtful individuals to pass on their legacy. And so forth and so forth and so forth...

[Embryonic Exorcist]

"Sly smile footsie" is my favorite line. :) I like the contrast between what is said in the beginning of both stanzas "old shoes should be slung out" and then all the flashbacks of the wonderful places those shoes have gone with you. Very cool and very well done.

[cartera]

Good working of the metaphor; we cannot discard folk like old shoes when they fit us so well and they have helped us create our garden from next to nothing to something that blooms in life's summers. Best to take 'cold feet'.
Aristotle urged us all to tend our garden. Don't remember him saying much about shoes, or should that be sandals?
Liked the construction, it 'soun ded' excellent to mne as I read it to myself. A good performance piece for you I think.
ATB
Alex.

[Antonio Valentino]

I love the time of year, today, when I don't have to wear shoes, although one of my pet peeves is wet floors, because then my feet get wet ha.

How far would we get in life without the shoes of our wit and imagination.

Now I bouts to be steppin...

Loved this!

[Adelia Alighieri]

I agree, I have this thing for shoes.

I love what you wrote and how you wrote it, it's brilliant.
Well done!

[Moflo]

Hah love love love the format of this, i think its very creative! The contrast of the two pairs only help the creativity. Good job.