Finds

cupped within maternal palms

i hold the remnants of a

toddlers first steps

a tiny pair of black patent

soft shiny shoes

with eye catching buttons

at the end of slender

elasticated straps

vamp embellished swirls

of fine white stitching

stem style neat

remembering her face

soft brushed wispy curls

wide eyed surprise

she took off with speed

amid eagerness to please

before little legs crumbled

and she stumbled backwards

on to a well cushioned

derriere

Reviews

[Ayvid N]

Awww...this was such a sweet reading experience. With your words, I could see the tiny tot so clearly and they have those pretty shoes, that they’re so thrilled with and proudly show off. And with that new-found confidence, they’re raring to go but the little legs are not yet so adept and hence the fall. No matter though, they’ll be veterans in no time. This is how life teaches those yet untouched. Such a brilliant metaphor, my friend.

As always, your lovely, descriptive pen and the superb thought content is unmatched! Kudos on this gem, my friend!

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you dear DIVYA for your thoughtful and very generous words. So appreciate you.

Chris

[emmajoy]

Delightfully visual! And yes, I grinned, laughed, coughed then felt quite tearful. You have an instinctive way of putting just enough: leaving scenes, happenings with such gentle strokes. Your words float then land and stay for .. ..

Such a sweet sweet picture.. smiling now after a third read!

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Em. Those little moments are precious, just as the little pair of back patent tiny shined shoes are. They make you stop, think, reflect and smile, while your heart pumps extra warm.

Chris

[Einstein Noodle]

smiling big now, Christine! first steps ... so precious and delightful ... "vamp embellished swirls" kills me :)) my grandson Jackson took his first steps a few days ago ... they "take off with speed" indeed .. and the time flies don't it!? ... i feel a mix of that joy and also the blues .. my children all grown now so fast it seems .. i especially like the details in this ... smooth imaging .. sparks me imagination

[Chris Shaw]

Hello Mr E and a big thank you for a warm review on a bitterly cold day here. We are laced in frost. Looks gorgeous, but merits the heating staying on for longer :) Lucky you with Jackson, bet he is a delight. I have spent time this week with my new g grandson Jahkai who is two months old now. What a handsome dude he is. He is going to melt a few hearts. Isn't it a blessing having these youngsters as we age? Puts a kick in your steps and a giggle in your heart :)

[Einstein Noodle]

yes it is and yes it does ;) congrats on Jahkai! such a unique name to me ... they are a giggle for sure! :)

[Dave]

Chris - you make it sooooo easy to re-picture in my mind those fabulous years, though they were short, when my two girls were just toddlers. One of the reasons I wrote "Children", posted here.

Bless you Chris and take care - Dave

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you so much Dave. Pleased that this little poem resurrected those precious memories of your daughters as toddlers. All good wishes Sent your way on a very cold January day across the pond.

Chris

[Lorry]

Awww, but enough of that, with the fear of being hashtagged and labelled politically incorrect (once more), what is the deal with you lady type people and shoes? 😀
Okay, i admit that these ones do sound special, instantly replaying those memories in a clarity that makes HD look like the dark ages, while simultaneously (phew, that's a long word) putting a smile on your face that makes people cross the street if they see you coming... I know that feeling oh so wel 😀
A beautiful memory, perfectly capturing the way such inanimate objects can flood our minds with memories of then them and now them.

[Chris Shaw]

Oh those little shoes do bring out such warm feelings. Women and shoes? Not this one. I don't find it's necessary to do an Imelda Narcos (think it was her) who was a shoe hoarder of magnitude) Handbags, OK I'll admit to that one :)) Thank you Lorry on a freezing cold day. Hope you are full of the soon to be and greatly anticipated joys of spring.

Chris

[Lorry]

No. We got an e mail from spring and she's decided to go elsewhere this year, again.
But never fear, its always a few weeks after you'll get it, it takes about 6 weeks to travel from the bottom of Engerland, to the frozen northern wastelands of Scottieland. I heard it on Q. I. once 😀

[Chris Shaw]

Good morning Lorry. Well in that case, when it arrives here, I will give you notice and then you can mark it on your calendar. It is perishing. Turned the heating back on, but it's so pretty outside. Thick, crunchy frost. I had to try it, yes it crunched underfoot. You must be looking forward to Burns night.

[Lorry]

I am, although since moving further north (I can't quite recall why i thought that was such a good idea) its on the menu a bit more frequently.
Having a veggie one this year (I'm sure that is still a criminal offence here, but i was outnumbered and caved in)
Crunchy frost is nice, but so is sunning yourself on an exotic beach, sipping a rum drink from a coconut.
I am definitely going somewhere hot next holiday 😀

[.]

A lovely piece of reminiscing, Christine.....

Time certainly does fly in this life; in one moment we are enjoying the first milestones of a life walked on chubby, unsteady legs and the next they are all grown up and building an independent life for themselves. Where does the time go? Its one of the enduring sadnesses of our lifetime.

Hopefully cradling those tiny shoes in your hands delivered you as many smiles as the years that have passed. Delving into the past is always great for inspiration for writes but it sure does have an emotional effect on us all the same.

A fine write. Delicate and bittersweet.

[Chris Shaw]

Aw thank you Doodley for your much appreciated visit. You are so right, a little pair of shoes or a story book found while sorting can bring a flood of memories back. You do indeed take a pause and wonder where the time has gone. The past can certainly inspire a poem or two. Hope all is good with you. We have been watching with horror the huge bush fires in Australia and more recently a deluge of hail stones. Keep safe.

Chris

[.]

All is well, Christine. Still 60 plus fires burning in my state, and that super cell hailstorm near Canberra, but nothing near me at present. Temperatures on the rise to 40 degrees C again this week, so fingers crossed it doesnt get worse.

[Dave Brown]

You certainly epitomize the sweet, soft-hearted, loving grandmother(?) with her joy filled visits just beginning to start
For whatever reason, It has always been all boys here, who destroy all their
shoes and everything else in sight

[Chris Shaw]

Thanks Dave. I was sorting through some stuff and found this little pair of Beth's shoes. She is 19 now. They brought back some special memories. By the way, I have always been Nan, never Grandma:)) These little shoes are treasures.

Chris

[Dave Brown]

Haha
I too had a Nan

[gram linski]

sweet poem that brought a smile, good stuff, and she either started giggling her head off or screaming the house down, lol,

[Chris Shaw]

She was a giggler back then, she certainly wasn't a screamer. These days we know for sure when she is at home :)) Thanks gram..

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

"stitching stem style neat"
love that phrasing...
we take baby steps in life...then fall backwards onto our butts...the trick is getting up again and to keep trying until we can walk forward, comfortably.
j.

[Chris Shaw]

Yes baby steps Jacob. That's how we learn and we take baby steps throughout our lives when we try new things and aren't sure if ourselves. Thank you my friend.

Chris