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Once upon a time,
every time I came in the back door,
a jumble of shoes would greet me,
shucked off by my kids after school,
backpacks dropped in a heap,
escape, escape,
from the day's confinements.
I used to deplore the jumble,
wondering how on earth
to make five pairs of shoes
(one pair each was all I could afford)
look less like a toppled mountain
and more like we lived in
an orderly establishment.
One Christmas,
my son wanted Doc Marten boots
which I could not afford, but
I bought them anyway, because
it was Christmas.
New Year's morning I went downstairs to find
ONE boot inside the back door.
The other had been lost in last night's partying.
Someone had tossed it
out a car window,
and he had risked frostbite
hopping home with only one boot
through the freezing snow.
Not our finest hour,
Who knew that one day,
I would walk in my door,
shuck off my ONE pair of shoes,
and miss that big heap of tennis shoes,
and all of the bodies they carried around
through those busy happy laughing
messy years?
inspired by the prompt at dVerse: on shoes
Oh! Memories linked with the heap of shoes. Nostalgic and beautifully written. :-)
ReplyDelete-HA
Ugh! Shoes! Even the shoe stand in my house is like that. Even i shuck of my shoes as soon as i come home from school. My mom keeps yelling at me to keep my surroundings clean and she misses not yelling at me when i'm not there. It's a lovely heartwarming poem :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting what one misses as one looks back. So often it seems things that were irritating at the time can be a nice memory later on. Enjoyed your reflection here, Sherry.
ReplyDeleteAs we trail through life................these remain as our prints.....................
ReplyDeleteyes ! the busiest years in our life is with our kids. and as many agree the most satisfying too. very well brought out with all the shoes.
ReplyDeletesmiles. the pile of shoes....my boys do much the same...shucking them when they come through the door....and even though i curse tripping over that pile some days...i imagine i will miss it one day too...smiles.
ReplyDeleteAh, I hear you, Sherry. Those messy days with kids at home were so much better than today's orderly homes.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully done :)
this made me smile... as it brought back memories...
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point - I suppose I will miss the jumble when it means my kids are no longer here.
ReplyDeleteYes! We had a pile too which got smaller as we aged and moved away and the folks were able to move to larger quarters. Gosh! I do miss it. And now I can even be nostalgic about the one pair and a new one on birthday or Christmas, whichever holiday was closest. Wonderful reflection.
ReplyDeleteYes, the very things we didn't like, will likely be the ones we miss.
ReplyDeleteA lot of memories and lots of episodes, all on shoes. Very interesting Sherry! Great write!
ReplyDeleteHank
Bittersweet memories.
ReplyDeletetypical motherly longing and nostalgia.loved the narration.
ReplyDeletea very heart-warming write, Sherry.
ReplyDeleteI owned a Doc Martens once. It's comfy, keeps the feet dry, and it really lasts. :)
such a sad story...i've never lost a shoe though :)
ReplyDeleteAhh, tis' the little things … they become big.
ReplyDeleteSherry, yes, we do have the best stories, and this is one of them. It made me a bit teary even though I was not blessed with children. A good reminder for me, a perfectionist, when feeling aggravated with my husbands clutter. Need I say more?
ReplyDeleteThe truth about aging and loss related to that.. expressed so well.. Love how you tied the story of the lost boot... I hope it's a story that have aged well... and one pair is really sad.
ReplyDeletepassage of time makes that messy clutter so beautiful...love the nostalgic touch
ReplyDeleteNext time I curse the hazard that is the pile of shoes by the back door, I shall remember this piece... and know that I will miss this chaos and mess at some point soon...it won't be long.
ReplyDeleteOh, Sherry! I'm going to be smiling all day thinking about that on Doc Marten.
ReplyDeleteI would have been mad if my son had lost a new shoe and worried in retrospect that he could have risked frostbite! I like how you put the memories of your children's shoes into a poem.
ReplyDeleteI am smiling as well! I have one pair that I wear most of the time--and then when they wear out, I get another--I am just about there
ReplyDeletePoignant and heartfelt reminiscences with a sense of loss. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteyou make me miss the shoes my two daughters had - this made me smile
ReplyDeleteOh yes we will miss those piles, won't we? Another lovely and heartfelt write. Thanks for this second poem!
ReplyDeleteemotive without being maudlin, and both wise and aware of foolishness. a lovely pen, Sherry ~
ReplyDelete