In My Shoes

—Anonymous Photos
 

SHOES
—Charles Mariano, Sacramento, CA

shoes
say who you are
where you’re from
Converse, Nike,
best money can buy

when i was a kid,
a mocoso,
from the K street projects
in Merced,

shoes
were like my skin
dirty, callused, peeling

i wore shoes
from the segunda,
secondhands, for a buck

wore them
till they barked
flopping front ends
patched with tape
cardboard insoles

nothing to do
with culture,
everything to do
with poor

don’t recall
being dirty, smelling bad,
or crying,
but must have

i remember hungry
a lot

and no matter
how many times
i changed the cardboard
in my shoes
embarrassed
by my hardened, unwashed socks,

or wondered why
everyone in school
stared,

i’d just lower my head
pretend not to notice,
then go home
to our house
in the projects,

where it was safe
where everyone
wore shoes,
like me
 

FELONY FAUNA FAUX PAS
(Response to “Where Did They Go?”
By Taylor Graham, Medusa, 11/23/17)
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA

Land of the brave
Home of the free
This property is mine
All answer to me

We won independence
From one old world kingdom
Only to start our very own
Real estate development company

Bison, bears, and skunks
Used to roam freely here
Until we developed the land
For the higher purpose of profit

Making the very existence
Of some of God’s creatures
A blight upon the property
Indeed, a serious criminal offense

Homeless humans, too
Living off the land like
So many unwanted animals
Get off my property, all of you!!

VALUE ADDED
—Caschwa

A hauntingly beautiful
Piece of silver jewelry
Was salvaged from
A pile of discards

Real metal
Not a plastic bauble
I needed to learn its value
For insurance purposes

No, of course
To sell it and pocket
The cash
Dear cash

The jeweler eyed it through
His brass-plated monocle
Weighed the piece in his hand
And offered me 15 cents

“It has barely any silver”
Recited the jeweler
“Save it for your grandchildren.”
And that was that

The next day, mysteriously, when
The jeweler opened for business
He stumbled across an old bucket
Filled with silverfish

And that was that.

___________________

Today’s LittleNip(s):

Empathy is about standing in someone else’s shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes. Not only is empathy hard to outsource and automate, but it makes the world a better place.

—Daniel H. Pink

* * *

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

—Dr. Seuss

* * *

A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.

—Charles Spurgeon

___________________

A big thank-you to Charles Mariano and Caschwa (Carl Schwartz) for today’s fine poetry! Readings in Sacramento this week begin tonight at Sac. Poetry Center with Andrena Zawinski and Indigo Moor plus open mic, 7:30pm. And on Wednesday, Indigo reads again, this time at the Annual SPC Fundraiser at the Miller home, 1224 40th St., Sacramento, 6-8pm. Music will be provided by the CSUS Vocal Jazz Ensemble, plus food, a raffle, and a silent auction. $40/$30 for SPC members. Scroll down to the blue column (under the green column at the right) for info about these and other upcoming poetry events in our area—and note that more may be added at the last minute.

—Medusa

 Let your poetry dance until your shoes wear out, 

then put on a new pair and dance some more!

Photos in this column can be enlarged by clicking on them once,
then click on the X in the top right corner to come back
to Medusa.