ManicDDaily

Shoe Letter – Written From Left to Right

My dear…. fellow,

I don’t even know what to call you, buddy,
except gone.

I don’t know what to say,
except come back.

‘Course, it could get rough–
you have some kind of tongue on you
and I can be an awful heel–
still we had something–
we were together–just us two–and that was the way
I guess I thought we always would be.

Only now–now, you’ve walked, and now
I’m left behind, more left, and there don’t seem nothing
I can do to bring you back–

Look, you were right. You were always right.
You thought out of the box
from the very start, even back when everything
was so tight.
Then later, when you finally made me come
out of the closet–
sure, I was pissed (damn dog)–but you stayed by me
through the whole darn muck of it, stayed
right by my side.

And what stinking thing
did I do in return?
Insist I wasn’t having
strings attached, me
who was always so straight-laced anyway,
what did it even matter
about me?

Honestly, when I look out the window–into our old corner of sky
and telephone line–I feel almost
like hanging myself–
but I don’t think I could even dangle
on my lonesome.

I’m just useless
with you gone, moping by the side
of the bed, half-crazed
with worry
and want.

Oh yeah, I know people think of me
as the strong silent type–but beneath that leathery exterior,
I am crying, babe.

Just because no one hears don’t mean
it aint real.

Cause I am crying, sweetheart,
crying for you.

Sole mate,
soul mate,
sole….
mate.

That is what I can call you, all right–
dear one,
please–

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Here’s a little sort of poem very belatedly written for Kerry O’Connor’s challenge on With Real Toads to write a love letter between two inanimate objects. The prompt was based on very creative performance poetry by Sarah Kay. In my case, the objects, if you hadn’t guessed, are a pair of shoes–one gone missing, the other unable to cobble together a new life.

I am also posting this for dVerse Poets Pub Open LInk Night.

PS – I’ve realized since posting that I made my drawing of the right shoe rather than left! I’m very right handed – will try to fix if I have time.