Each morning I watch him set up in the street
with polish and rags and a little wood seat
and he waits there for someone to offer their feet.
Shoeshine man, shoeshine man
Nikes don't need you, so do what you can.
Strollers in sandals with wool socks go by
while joggers in cross-trainers chat on the fly
and feet clad in Gortex splash past, warm and dry.
Shoeshine man, shoeshine man,
getting no custom from Birkenstock fans.
The shoeshine man's not at the corner today
and somebody told me that he'd gone away,
just up and abandoned his shoeshine display.
Shoeshine man, shoeshine man
no more polish in the shoeshine can.
--image by Tres via readwritepoem
Collection available! Knocking from Inside
Monday, December 29, 2008
Shoeshine Blues
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6 comments:
Tiel -
This is 'the blues', a sad song, an ode to the past, an anthem to changing times -- I loved it... ;)
i really like this.. this has rhythm.. it could be a song.
I wonder what will become of the abandoned shoe stand...
An interesting rhyme scheme! I like how you captured the sadness of the scene.
Such a sad poem that speaks to the reality of how things that once were a necessity become obsolete. The photograph is absolutely perfect!
Beautifully put..
frenzied entropies
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