My Feet Spoke to Me

One day walking home from work
My feet spoke to me.  They said:
 
“Ray, we don’t want you sticking us in your fancy
             brown custom-made dress shoes from Portugal.
             They are tight, and our toes can’t move around freely."

"OK," I said, "let’s try
an older pair tomorrow,
something more worn,
more broken in."

My feet said,
 
“OK, but if we don’t like it, you won’t like it either.”
 
I said, "OK, tomorrow we
will wear the ECCO’s,
the Baghdad ECCO’s
that are well-worn and broken in."

The next day my feet apoke to me again.  They said,
 
“Ray, we don’t like the ECCO’s either. 
We discussed it among ourselves and
decided we want the brown leather
Saucony’s, you know, the running shoes."

I said, "but I can’t wear running shoes to work with a Suit."

They said,
 
            "If you don’t, we won’t like it.
                And you won’t like it either." 

So Sunday night I cleaned up
the Sauconys and gave them
a good buffing with cream polish.
Monday morning my feet were smiling!

 

November 2012

One day walking home from work
My feet spoke to me.  They said:

“Ray, we don’t want
You sticking us in your fancy
brown dress shoes from Portugal.
They are tight, and
our toes can’t move around freely.

"OK," I said, "let’s try
an older pair tomorrow,
something more worn, 
more broken
in."

My feet said,

        “OK, but if we don’t like it,
        You won’t like it either.”

I said, "OK, tomorrow we
will wear the ECCO’s,
the Baghdad ECCO’s that 
are well-worn and 
broken in."

The next day my feet
Spoke to me again.  They said,

        “Ray, we don’t like the ECCO’s
        either.  We discussed it among ourselves
        and decided we want the brown leather
        Saucony’s, you know, the running shoes.

I said, "but I can’t wear running shoes
To work with a Suit."

They said,

        If you don’t, we won’t like it.
        And you won’t like it either. 

So Sunday night I cleaned up
the Saucony’s and gave them
a good buffing with cream polish.

Monday morning my feet were smiling! 

Comments

  1. Steve HamonNovember 25, 2012 at 1:50 PM

    Thanks, Ray. I love this one! If I could only listen to my body that sensitively.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mab MacMoraghNovember 25, 2012 at 4:03 PM

    great! my feet speak to me too-

    ReplyDelete
  3. tinkwelbornNovember 26, 2012 at 4:45 AM

    Listen to your feet!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousNovember 26, 2012 at 5:36 AM

    Monday and I'm also smiling, your poem makes me smile. Lindo poema, Raymond! I think I can hear the steps and their echos. I loved the dialogue, reading it makes me think how nice it is when we are in accordance with our steps, and we «just go». I also found very suggestive the Baghdad echo of brokenness. Please, escreve sempre, it's a pleasure to read you :)

    Helga

    ReplyDelete
  5. raymond maxwellNovember 26, 2012 at 2:40 PM

    Helga: you zoomed right in on the ECCO/echo word play. The Baghdad "echo" is broken in, "worn," yet the "feet" still don't like it. The neo-con model is broken, yet we keep trying to make it work, in Afghanistan, in Libya, and soon, in Syria.

    The "feet" prefer the Saucony's, a natural and ancient truth. "Saucony traces its early roots to the banks of the Saucony Creek in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. Native American inhabitants created the Saucony name, which translated means "mouth of a creek or river". In 1906, Saucony built its first factory, a brick two-story construction along the Saucony Creek."

    Portugal, of course, is best known for its WWII neutrality abroad,
    while practicing a form of fascism at home and a rapacious colonialism in its colonies. As you know, I love Portugal, nonetheless, and can't wait to get home and listen to some Fado!

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousNovember 29, 2012 at 3:35 AM

    Yes, and thank you Raymond. That's why I found beauty in your poem, I loved how you said it, with "tenderness" you presented the powerful and brokenness of these themes.

    Para ouvires entretanto:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkQhaXi0ACw

    Um abraço,

    Helga

    ReplyDelete
  7. raymond maxwellNovember 30, 2012 at 3:56 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  8. KatrinDecember 2, 2012 at 11:24 AM

    This poem works on so many levels -- thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Zilda Batista10@hotmail.comDecember 7, 2012 at 10:25 AM

    Hello Ray!

    Great poem! It made me smile and think about that. Sometimes we do not listen to the sound of our body...

    ReplyDelete

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