SHOES: A Poem (3/16/2018)


I can’t get the image out of my head - all the empty shoes on the White House lawn.  It is a constant in my waking hours and haunting my sleep. 

http://time.com/5198721/capitol-gun-death-protest-shoes/

Why hasn't this caused more of a stirring? 
 
Shoes are life.  They represent the journey, the travels, the destinations of their owners.  They stretch to fit; they confirm to a person’s shape.  They carry dust from where you’ve been and point in the direction of the future. 

It seems as though a great sadness settles into the shoes that will never again be worn by their owner. 
  
 
 
SHOES
by Autumn Boyet Stinton (3/16/2018)
 
Donned to protect the “souls” of my feet
Directing me forward to those I will meet.
 
Conforming and stretching to fit me just right
Responsible to be not too loose or too tight.
 
Able to fit any mood, any style, any need
Propelled from my past, to my future you lead.
 
A shoe must be filled to know its real worth
The go-between for many, a separation from earth.
 
You carry my weight and do not complain
In all sorts of weather; clouds, wind, sun and rain.
 
You’ve taken the heat and cold, the muddy and wet
Protected me from elements and all kinds of threats.
 
You are meant to be used and worn all but out
Your value not realized until one goes without.
 
A joy so simple one might miss all that you mean
Until you are empty and then great sadness is seen. 
 
Not made to be empty, not lost or thrown out
A more sorrowful sight you will see, I doubt. 
 
A new shoe holds promise if it will be used
But an old empty shoe says life was refused. 
 
It soaks in the sorrow, fibers withered with pain
And conjures up images that drive one insane.
 
The shoe that is empty and left all alone
Wreaks of despair for what once was known.
 
Nothing can fix or prevent, not me and not you
The sadness that settles into an empty old shoe. 
 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Free Form Writing - A Poem: THE STORM (July 20, 2017)

Image
THE STORM By Autumn Boyet Stinton – July 20, 2017 The storm clouds outside reflect the storm brewing in my soul.   My steely cold frustration with narcissistic turbulence collides with the heat of anger and produces a head of thunder, lightning and rage that will not be contained.   Negative energy feeds upon itself growing to critical mass, destined to explode and rain down agony upon me and all around me.   Emotions swirl and the outflow of grit and dirt blast away protection leaving each nerve exposed and feeling raw.   My stomach pitches as the thunder begins to rumble and roll, unleashing a warning chorus of impending danger.   “Run away,” it admonishes.   “Take cover,” it warns.   The air is electrified with sizzling energy that seeks to lash out and plunge its wrath into whatever may quench its thirst. As if to give credence to the warning rumble of the thunder built from angst, the full intensity of the storm bursts forth as lightning flashes and echoes t
Read more

Anxiety, You BITCH! (5/14/2018)

Image
I can see myself as though from a position above – a watcher, who can not only see the breadth and ferocity of my situation, but too, the depth of raw emotion that clouds me from my own ability to see.   I am lost in my vision of even myself.   I am crushed by a pressing weight of angst as it spreads through my chest causing pins and needles to crawl and twist up my neck thus creating the desperate need for me to gasp for air – pulling it in over the hot coals that reside in my chest.     I struggle as though breathing through sand, but I drag in a raged breath.   I gasp and draw not enough air – only enough to sustain life; only enough to feel the agony of my breath as it catches on the sharp edges protruding from my heart.   Each snag makes my soul cry out in despair.   But there is no stopping the pain, for it is also coursing through my blood – a river of molten desperation, restricted in flow and building pressure.   My closed eyes bulge at the thin layer of lid that keeps
Read more

Imposed Timelines or My Own Guidepost - Which am I following? (8/14/2018)

Image
As I get older, I think about the timelines and guideposts that I use to gauge success in my life.   I often think about what I knew (at least what I thought I knew) and what I know now.   I think it is evolutionary.   Life continues on and, (if we are actually living our lives), we learn and grow as we go along.   I’ve always had an independent mind.   I have always felt as though I was fairly sure of who I was.   I knew what I wanted and where I was going.   Looking back, I can see the goal posts that I set and the timelines that I created and followed – sometimes almost blindly and to my detriment.   The only saving grace that I can glean from the bumps, bruises and failures I survived along the way is the realization that it is all part of the story that makes up who I am today.   When I think about the timelines that are imposed on us and how rigid they can be, I can’t help but consider where they came from and how I adopted them as my own.   Who felt so self-importa
Read more