Wednesday, November 08, 2006

From A Distance

When I was an adolescent
I wanted a pair of penny loafers—
Bass Weejuns,
the expensive, popular ones;
the kind Burlington Gold Toe socks
were matching partners
with the in-step of the shoe.
I did eventually get a pair,
not Weejuns, but
from a distance they looked cool.
The humpback cracks in the sidewalk,
linoleum tiles buffed by a janitor
that always looked down, and never smiled,
didn’t know my feet were scuffing a scam;
I knew the ones I wanted to impress knew,
but from a distance I did look cool.


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21 comments:

Margie said...

You do write the best poems Pat..

love this one...from a distance...
Thanks Pat!

Margie

Margie said...

Oh, wonderful reading Pat!

Margie:)

MB said...

I enjoy hearing you read your poems, Pat. Brings them to life! This one brought back memories of what I thought was cool in highschool — looking back from a distance!

Roger Stevens said...

Linoleum. I used to slide about on that in my socks to impress my girlfriend. Mind you, I was only six at the time.

Nice poem.

Kai said...

from a distance

what a poem

sangeet said...

Great poem Pat and lovely to hear your voice!

gulnaz said...

oh what wonderful poems and so good to hear it in your voice too!

the added element of sound to the words adds to the effect!

this wanting to belong to a group is a feeling most of us have grown up with and sometimes even after growing up.

polona said...

oh, this brings back memories... some things were not easy to get back in yugoslavia...

great poem, pat!

polona said...

back to say: i really enjoy your reading :)

Kai said...

thank you

J. Andrew Lockhart said...

I needed those when O was young. :)

Masago said...

That's plain nice...another insight into our Pat's character. Thanks.

Tongue in Cheek Antiques said...

When I realized I was never going to be in, I started to feel free, I had penny loafers...but they were never cool in my school!
The word scuff goes well in this poem, it scuffs up memories and kicks up feelings.

Roger Stevens said...

I wonder if they ever made penny loafers called Glass Weejuns?

Thanks for dropping by.

jel said...

thanks Pat,


have a great day!

Anonymous said...

Ah, loafers with shiny new pennies!

Pat Paulk said...

It is a distance isn't it? Thank you Margie!!

MB, thank you!! We all have our memories of those days.

Roger thanks for coming by!! Yep, did some sliding on linoleum myself, not sure how many girls I impressed.

Kai, from a distance, thank you!!

Sangeet, been a long time, glad to see you back!!Thanks!!

Gulnaz, yeah we're basically heard animals. Makes for a bad day when you don't fit in too. Thank you!!

Polona, we are so spoiled in this country. A double thank you!!

Andrew, in hind site, should've been thankful I had shoes.

As multi-boring as it is...Thanks Vaughn!!

Corey, you were a smart girl, most kids let it eat them from the inside out. Scuff is a good poetic word, like "scrunch" it hits several sensory levels at once. Thank you!!

Roger, I don't know, but a knock-out princess to slip them on my feet would just be fine!!

Thanks Janice!! Hope you do!

Joyce, that was the thing, you couldn't put the pennies in their appointed slots, that would've been an automatic sneaker-behind-your-back response. Life moved on, and so did I.

Pat Paulk said...

Joyce, I can't spell either, "snicker..."

Pris said...

I really like this!

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

I know all about this. Wanted the same thing. And how were your hushpuppies? Good one Pat. Like listening to you read.

Sue hardy-Dawson said...

reminds me of the bad side of youth insecurity good poem pat and good to put a voice to the immage