If you saw my Facebook post yesterday you'll have noticed that I went to church wearing two different shoes. Now, lots of folks have gone out with shoes of different colors. I went out looking like this.
In my defense, I did dress in the dark so my husband could sleep in. I reached in, grabbed two pair of slingbacks, slipped them on, and walked out of the house. When I got out of the car and found my feet were cold, I looked down and was shocked.This story leads me to our writing topic - shoes. There are lots of things we put on our feet. I prefer mine to be bare, but I have had a few well-loved pairs over time. I was particularly fond of a pair of clogs I had in middle school. When I started teaching I bought my first and only pair of red shoes. I have a sparkly gold pair of heels I've only worn once . They're pretty, but they hurt and only match the dress I bought them to match. The dress is long gone, but the shoes remain. Perhaps I'll write about my first pair of skates. There's just so much from which to choose.
So, there's your challenge. Leave me a note about your shoe poem and I'll post the results here late this week.
Slippers
ReplyDeleteMy comfy shoes? A pair of slippers,
Fuzzy purple, slip-slip-slap.
I wear them when I sit and write,
I even wear them when I nap.
If I should don them to go dancing,
I’d be happy through the night.
But drop one on my way back home--
And every prince would run with fright.
My favorite shoes, a pair of slippers,
Big enough to float the sea.
Just fit them out with oars and I
Will be as happy as can be.
No prince will see me in these slippers,
None would offer me a throne.
But I don’t care, I love my fuzzies,
Wear them when I’m all alone.
©2011 by Jane Yolen all rights reserved
Plain black slip-on slippers for me. I finally had to let them go because there was no longer anything holding the soles onto the tops. I like yours with their oars. I'll have to look into a purple pair and sail away...
ReplyDeleteGlass Slippers
ReplyDeleteCinderella, dressed in glimmer,
ran swiftly down the stairs—
more graceful than a princess,
she didn't trip, not even once.
Her dress changed back to rags,
her carriage to a pile of orange mush.
But the girl took off her shoes
and put one in each pocket.
When she got home, Cinderella
hid them in the pan cupboard
inside her least favorite soup tureen,
then waited for the prince to show up.
Because if he couldn't find her
and recognize her face, not
her feet, she was pretty sure
she didn't want him anyway.
--Kate Coombs, 2011, all rights reserved
It’s True
ReplyDeleteI never lace
my shoes too tight.
I like to let them talk
of sole-soul secrets
with their tongues
as quietly I walk
between two voices –
I like toes.
I prefer a heel.
Would you believe
that your own shoes
can talk
and think
and feel?
© Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, all rights reserved
A tanka:
ReplyDeletein the back
of the closet a cat
amongst the shoes
comfort if not warmth
in canvas and leather
© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved
The Backward Man
ReplyDeleteThere was a man from Santa Cruz
Who sold his shiny Sunday shoes—
The shoelaces,
The shoelace holes,
The heels and tongues.
He sold the soles.
And not one thing was overlooked—
He sold the steps the shoes once took!
The nincompoop who bought the shoes
Now walks around in Santa Cruz
But always with a backward look
Taking steps the shoes once took.
Winter Boot Ambivalence
ReplyDeleteI'm sick of them, matte, scratched, and black.
Though they wear well in snow and ice
They do their work - there is no lack --
They're warm and dry and match my mack --
But have no style. I lack the knack
Of making "sexy" from "sad-sack."
They're waterproof, they will not crack --
They're old, so I can't take them back.
______________
This was going to be a triolet before I remembered that the first line has to be repeated in the fourth. I'll have to work on this.
:) Miss ya.
I laughed out loud at this, Tricia. When I was teaching 8th grade, I wore unmatching shoes one day--same thing, husband asleep, I dressed in the dark, etc. It became a school legend:>) One of my proudest moments--ha!
ReplyDeleteHere's my poem for today! Decided to do a riddle poem for kids. Not happy with my last stanza--need something kickier:>)
What Are We?
We make tracks together
You and we equal three
We make goals in soccer
And grip the oak tree
Our tongues flutter freely
We’ve got soles but no teeth
Wherever you wander
We’re just underneath
But sometimes in summer
We’re stuck under your bed
And then we daydream about
Schooldays ahead
--Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved
Events in Arizona have me feeling something like self-loathing today--as much as I enjoy my wardrobe of boots.
ReplyDeleteBase Nature
They say it was the wheel
or fire, writing or
fences that set us on the road
to dominating
the planet and all species,
but look: somewhere around
30,000 BCE we thought to
protect our soles.
See us there, glancing down and then heavenward?
We stride forward into history
trampling wide paths, wearing
human consciousness
strapped to our feet with
thongs cut from servant plants
or the skin of animals.
--Heidi Mordhorst
The sapphire fell out of my antique ring
ReplyDeletethe very first time I wore it, so hubby, confronted
bought me what I really wanted,
growling about professional running shoes...
that I'll never really use...
flying in on an Amazonian wing.
Yesterday,
I went to pay
for laceup shoes to FLY inside the house.
Rubber-soled purple canvas; cheap enough that even the spouse
would approve, but then, reaching for stars,
I put them back and bought two new sports bras.
There are priorities,
and then there are PRIORITIES.
Stilettos
ReplyDeleteThree inches of solid steel
less than half an inch wide
transform the wearer
into a goddess,
a sexy, steamy, slinky goddess,
and allow her to glide
across a room like an angel,
a devil of an angel,
posture erect,
calf muscles flexed,
wearing men weak with her walk
as their eyes follow,
follow and follow
all unaware that they stare
because of three inches
of solid steel.
c 2011 Barbara J. Turner all rights reserved
Hi Tricia ~ That photo of your shoes is priceless! And since we are in the midst of a delicious snowstorm, which always brings out the kid in me...
ReplyDeleteSNOWSHOES
They say these things are snowshoes
Sure look like boats to me
For mother mouse and family
To cross the deep blue sea.
I can not move or try to flee
With boats upon my feet
Please take these dumb things off of me
I’m ready to retreat.
© Carol Weis, all rights reserved
WARDROBE OF SHOES
ReplyDeleteRunners and Mary Janes
oxfords and flats
flip flops and sandals
with matching straw hats
that’s what you’ll find
in my wardrobe of shoes
cushy and wide
or my feet sing the blues.
I long for platforms
stilettos and mules
slingbacks and dress pumps
with sparkly heels
but my old feet are fussy
immune to each fad
and if they’re not comfy
they treat me bad!
© 2011 by Violet Nesdoly, all rights reserved
No new shoe poem yet, but Shoo, Heels! is from last year:
ReplyDeleteShoo, Heels!
Tricia,
ReplyDeleteI once went to work wearing two different shoes. They were similar in style--but different colors.
Here's a "fairy tale" shoe poem I wrote:
FAX
TO: PRINCE CHARMING
FROM: CINDERELLA
10 TINY TOES LANE
FAIRYTOWN, FRANCE
Remember me…the lovely lass
Who lost her slipper made of glass?
I didn’t want to leave the ball,
But I received an urgent call
From Rent-A-Coach demanding I
Return the carriage pronto. Why?
I guess some wealthy magistrate
Reserved it for a midnight date.
I’ve heard you’re searching everywhere
To find the maid who fit the pair
Of teeny tiny crystal shoes.
My darling prince, I have good news:
I’ve got the left. You’ve got the right.
Come try it on MY foot tonight!
You’ll find my address up above.
Can’t wait to see you. All my love.
If the shoe fits...
ReplyDeleteand it does...
I am awarding you with a very stylish blog award on my blog. I just LOVE your blog and all that you do!
So funny! I often dress in the dark so my husband can sleep and this is always my fear. Can say that I wore a brown dress one day with black shoes...didn't exactly match! Thanks for the laugh!
ReplyDeleteI'm a guy. I have two pair of shoes.
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Reebok
Barefoot Day
ReplyDeleteToes, toes, attached to feet:
Our first hello to those we meet.
Slender, stubby, and hairy too—
but these toes of mine are hidden from you.
We cover them up with sneakers and crocks,
we dress them in knee-hi’s, slippers, and socks.
What are we hiding? Why do we fear?
Let’s all go barefoot one day of the year.
Bunions, and corns, and warts: beware!
Your day is coming; you’d better prepare.
Let’s scrub those piggies and pumice that heel—
It’s time, oh feet, for your big reveal!
©2011 Julie Stiegemeyer
Shoes
ReplyDeleteStylish and sexy
High-heels, low-heels
Old and comfortable
Every color
Something for everyone
Okay, so I was just coming by to comment for Comment Challenge and now I have to come up with a poem? I guess that's fair, but you're only getting a haiku - true as it may be from me.
ReplyDeleteWinter's three pleasures:
silent snowfalls, hot chocolate,
and tall leather boots.
Okay, love these.
ReplyDeleteKate Coombs - yeah, I've always wondered about the prince not recognizing Cinderella's FACE! Well done.
And I like MotherReader's Haiku as well.
My own?
Boy's don't see
what girls see
looking at those shoes
our loafers and sneakers
are sparkle-less 'sleepers.'
boring brown and black,
sometimes robot blue.
If our choices were more fun
maybe we'd love shoes, too.