Common Threads

 

Shoes’ll take you back

shoes’ll take you back

-sparkly coral wedges-

to your son’s  wedding 

on a Tennessee mountainside 

where the hand -hewn arbor 

crafted by the bride’s dad 

framed the majestic simplicity 

of vows exchanged 

shoes’ll take you back 

-ecru platforms-

to the restaurant in Johns Creek 

where a community of Chinese descendants 

gathered to celebrate 

an American war hero 

whose missions saved their grandparents 

when his remains came home- finally 

shoes’ll take you back

-coffee slings- 

to the cobblestone streets of Savannah 

walking around the historic squares 

of the Flannery O’Connor childhood home 

on the way to Bonaventure cemetery 

shoes’ll take you back 

-black Merrells-

to the streets of Europe 

eating German licorice in Berlin 

escargot in Paris 

fish and chips in London 

pasta Arrabbiata in Florence 

pizza margherita and pistachio gelato in Rome

shoes’ll take you back 

-white baby boots-

to your child’s first steps 

the little white lace barrels screwed tight 

to prevent tripping 

in classic white Stride Rites 

festive bells sounding every success 

shoes I’ll take you back 

-gold spray painted sandals-

to your wedding day 

where God had turned your world around 

so you flipped your wedding party 

to face the guests

so they could see 

you were happier this time around 

shoes’ll take you back

-patriotic sneakers-

to the day you started kindergarten 

in Reynolds Georgia 

when all you wanted was 

a pair of 1970 red white and blue canvas Keds 

and the Whatleys  loaded you up 

in their Winnebago 

for a trip to the Macon Mall 

to find them in Belk

shoes’ll take you back 

 

 

Perambulating

 

There you were –

hiding on the clearance rack

in Marshall’s

feather-light black and white

Merrells marked down to $15

 

my mother would have snagged

you and bragged about you

for weeks on end

 

I picked you up and cradled you

twisted you

curved you

bent you  

tried you on

considered you carefully –

your ability to cooperate with

all the other players

no laces

full foot support

and – most importantly –

covered toes for crowded

places where people squeeze

breathe

pack tightly together

inhale, exhale

the shared air

of every other passenger

unknowing carriers

 

“Want to explore Europe on a dime?”

 

you jumped straight out of the box

hugged my feet

like rescued puppies

held on tightly for the ride

for the next two weeks’

whirlwind world traveling

 

I chose you – and only you

the solitary pair

for my minimalist-minded

one-carry-on journey

 

you carried me

perambulating

through airports

on night trains

on streetcars

on subways

on buses

on boats

and on foot

down city streets

you brought me face to face

with Big Ben

Westminster Abby

the Eiffel tower

the Brandenburg gate

the Colosseum

the Duomo

and the recently charred Notre Dame

that never struck us as fiery foreshadowing

 

you gripped your heels against the edge

of the Trevi Fountain as we

stood together

tossed one single coin

backwards

right hand over left shoulder

to guarantee a return visit

to these breathtaking streets

 

and never once

in all our adventures

did we stop and think,

“better savor every sight

of this window on the world

before it is forever changed” 

 

 

 

 

Prophecy

 

She’s wearing her prophetic shoes today

the ones she hasn’t  worn since her son’s wedding rehearsal

 

She’s wearing them because if in this

sci-fi  dystopian

novel of 2020 this is the rehearsal dinner

 

-the first day of school –

 

then she wants it to be as foreshadowing as his wedding

to his marriage

where life is beautiful

 

even though at the wedding she got

a little drunk

and her fingers got slammed in the honeymoon trunk

 

She wishes she could remember it

 

apparently being drunk is a good thing

when your fingers get slammed in a trunk

 

And thank God it was a Lexus LS 400

because it had the weatherstripping cushion

all around the edges

which someone surmised 

softened the blow of the pain

with the slam of the trunk

 

She’s told her reaction words were very calmly stated –

nobody panic. I’m OK. somebody get the keys before they take off.

 

and the only reason she drunk-cried

on the way back to the hotel

was because she feared not being able to write again

and she needed those fingers

 

she needed them to write the stories

 

the happy stories

the painful stories

the memorable stories

the stories of disbelief

the stories of days she’d rather forget

the stories of days she never wants to forget

the stories of not exactly being the type to get drunk

but getting drunk because she couldn’t stand the sight

of her ex-husband

who was the one paying the open bar tab

so she felt it her duty to drink

as many drinks as she could

yes, one in each hand most of the night,

thanks to her stepson who kept her locked and loaded –

and anyway she dances so much better when she’s drunk

practically professionally, she’s told

-just like Elaine on Seinfeld 

when she saw the video on Facebook – 

 

yes, she’s wearing her prophetic shoes today

they’re sparkly coral-colored wedges

with flashy Rocaille beads on the flowery toe

and do not match anything else she’s wearing

just like all the other logical fallacies of Covid-19 in 2020

 

because despite slammed trunks and

kick-dancing drunks and

ex-husbands and their new hoochie-mama wives

who wear sling-shoulder black sequined dresses to a wedding –

a wedding! – (and people try not to stare, and whisper)-

and her own memories of all that a marriage shouldn’t be –

she knows that 

some shoes walk us straight into

better days

 

WhamBam

Takes what he wants
Thinks he is the
    Greatest of All Time
Doesn’t pay kid support
Butts heads with others
Freeloader
Seeks nannies
   to take advantage of
Loves animal crackers
Tricolor Pygmy
Cuteness forgives

The Octane Trio

87-89-93
Years of blessed miracles

Mallory Michelle: first-born
Sunday, January 25
Visual artist

Marshall Wilson: middle child
Monday, March 27
Running athlete

Ansley Claire: youngest
Friday, September 24
Vocal artist

Octane Trio
87-89-93

Sweet Tea

steeped leaf brown
with ice cube spots
sugary sweet

kid on the playground
she’s the loudest
of the herd
sure to be heard

she’ll prop on a tree
a sexy pole-dancing stripper
causing a scene
sure to be seen

then jump on the stage
perform a twisting dive
through the air
Gypsy Rose Lee’s
reincarnated heir

playful kid
head-butting
to get the most
animal crackers

loving little show off!

Great Horned Owl hooting
at 5:15 AM
July 27, 2020

not the kind of sound anyone wants to hear any time
let alone on a Monday morning

owls know things that we don’t see coming

heralds of death
like foreshadowing in books
where doom looms a few pages ahead

anxiety hangs heavy in the air
like an unlifted veil of fog
a warning to pay attention
and be on the alert

Native Americans believed it –
And Isaiah brought one in, too
humans of Babylon face destruction

Today’s inspiration comes from Brian Glaser of Orange, California: write a variation of a praise ode, blending two different concepts to show similarities or relationships.  

Tango!

back and forth in constant motion
Jean Foucault’s Pendulum
360 degrees every 24 hours
spinning earth and swinging cord dancing a tango
overhead a magnetic kick
replacing energy lost with each swing
52 foot cable, 240 pound ball
vertical and horizontal lines
a dance floor of circular movement
side by side, front to back, clockwise
counterclockwise, elliptical paths
motion making sense of the universe

spiritual dowsing
physical healing
inner peace
invisible energy
balancing chakras
cleansing divination
holistic healing
changing perspectives
influencing decisions
affirming actions
spawning growth
broadening horizons

back and forth in constant motion
the reader’s eye
foveal, parafoveal, peripheral visions
250 millisecond fixations
with intermittent spans of
7 to 9 letters right, 3 to 4 letters left
in lock-step moving-window paradigms
a rhythmic textual tango of
fixations and saccades, scanning
alphabets of right to left, left to right, up and down
neurological networks using syntax and semantics
motion making sense of life

I Know a Place

I know a place where lovers go
in wintertime to feel the snow
who love fresh air and balsam pine
and sweet red wine, and sweet red wine

I know a place where good friends go
on autumn days when breezes blow
who love crisp leaves and crackling pine
and dry red wine, and dry red wine

I know a place where families go
on warm spring days, trails to follow
who love to hike among the pines
and dry white wine, and dry white wine

I know a place where teachers go
in summertime when cool springs flow
who read and write and sip and dine
on sweet white wine, more sweet white wine