The other day, my friend Tina Connolly posted the most fabulous picture of herself and her sunshiny shoes, and I swore to myself that I would write a poem about them, and here it is:
TINA CONNOLLY’S PATENTED TIME CAPSULE MOSTLY UNRHYMING POEM (™)
by C. S. E. Cooney
not glass nor fur nor iron
nor red slippers to dance your death in
but sunshiny shoes with strong rubber soles
real leaf-kickers, city-trekkers
not stoles of mink or lynx or wolf
nor cuffs of lace to dip your wine in
but brown adventure jacket, battered, dapper
owned by many, always yours
not pre-ripped, pre-faded, sexy/shabby denim
nor embroidered like a wild west that never was
but turquoise jeans, color of a merrow’s blood
rolled to sea-wave navy at the cuffs
may your socks ne’er be matched
may your lenses ne’er be scratched
may your gleam never dim
may the hum on your lips be a hymn
to human genius
may the laundry of our lives brighten us
may the dishes of our lives polish us
may the theatre of our lives mischief us
may the kerchiefs of our lives babushka us
and all our friends and lovers rise to strengthen us
when fragile we fall to the bedrock below
and if fragile you fall to the bedrock below
may your sunshine shoes and strong rubber soul
bounce
C.S.E. Cooney 