Rules of the street, I must abide,
A card board box, is where I reside.
Cold winter nights, I lay here alone,
Clothes on my back, are all that I own.
My most prized possession, I found in the street,
Are these unmatched shoes, I wear on my feet.
When new, I'm sure, they matched as a pair,
Separated with time, they show much wear.
Holes in the bottom, where water comes in,
With years of travel, there worn very thin.
There stitching's are old, and showing of age,
One is black, the other one beige.
They stay on my feet, no matter where I go,
Hot scorching summer, or through the freezing snow.
I sleep in my shoes, sometimes dream I'm in Rome,
They've carried me everywhere, everywhere but home.
If one day, you see me lying in the street,
Please...take all that you want,
Just leave me, with the shoes on my feet.
.
Author notes
Written January 26th, 2006
Written by: Driftwood/Gary Boykin
(Homeless)
In a list
A contest entry
- Open up your old closets and pull out the 1 by Mykeee.
1000 points, ended February 3, 2008, 47 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Enter the very first poem you posted by whispernthedark.
435 points, ended March 26, 2008, 50 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
What did you think
Comments
1 - 23 of 23
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very stark and real to life. The rhythm and rhyme was excellent, and imagery was outstanding. I am impressed how you really shared such sad subject in such beautifully crafted poem. Thank you for entering and good luck too you in the contest.
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What a wonderfully written piece of work!!! Bravo!!
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This is outstanding! Such a vivid piece, you really took me to this homeless soul with his mismatched shoes (one red, one blue in my mind). Your rhyme and flow is perfect. Great poem, thank you for entering the contest, good luck.
♥
whisper
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wow. I really like the way this was written. It was sad to the point that a prized possession would be two mix match shoes. damn. Impressive
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"They've carried me everywhere, everywhere but home."
I liked that line the best. The flow was nice. Thanks for entering my contest! -
A lot can be said about a person by the shoes on their feet. I like this, it has some very powerful images and rhythm. I could really envision what the guy was feeling and so my congrates goes out to you.
~Kitty~ -
Excellent
Again... a wonderful write... so poignant, so real... so full of images... you could almost feel everything that poor soul was feeling... I am so glad to have finally found you...Dee
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You have a great gift in writing! Your poem flows fluid and your words touch my soul. I really love this poem! Kudos
Wonderful! -
wow this is beautiful a very nice write x
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Bravo
A very touching piece. Again you struck a chord with your deep compassion for people.Bravo! -
beautifully said
I love how you have put this into words, he has no home and he loves his odd shoes that he found. This is so touching that, why should people be on the streets in this day and age, I cryed with the last part of your poem just leave me with the shoes on my feet awwwwwww bless. -
haha i think its cute, and deep i like the view of someones treasure that might be someone elses trash
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Your words are magic!!!!
If one day i see you
New pair of shoes is what you found
For i was very touch by your poem and the words. Shoes in this poem represent your pride. I really love this poem very very much. But my words are no where close to how i feel. If you see me in person. Tears is all you can see. Thank you so much for enter my contest. Wish you the best. Dreamer -
I have written pieces about both shoes and the homeless,for poignant reasons,but none can compare to this.You take the reader , like a voyeur watching from the corner, to see a person so dishevelled and down,you manage to negate all the possessions we feel we can`t live without by explaing ,even in death,the mismatched shoes were his most prized posession,never to be removed...you even wove in his dreams of travelling to Rome in them,you made the reader not forget he was as human as us, he had dreams,he had his prized posessions ,his dreams and posessions just happened to be different from ours,after all,we are all individuals whatever our circumstance in life.You have a gift,with your pen ,truly you do.
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You have such a soft heart to be able to come up with these poems. It takes tenderness and mercy. God bless my friend.
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you are a wonderful poet
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I hear ya...Thank you. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. Thanks
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Thank you so much. This really means alot to me. I like writng about different types of things that people can relate to, and the homeless was one of them. I actually have another homeless poem I want to write, just hasn't fully come to me yet. I don't write anything until it's ready to pour from my pen.
Agian, I thank you very much for your comment. Please feel free to go on a emotion ride with any of my other poems. Gary -
I thought I had read this poem before, and it may be that I had but did not leave comment at that time.
in any event, I think you have written very well of what may really feel important in the lives of those homeless on the streets. you really allowed us to further imagine the lives of such people, and it's a thoughtful and thought-provoking poem.
good luck to you in the contest!
Jo -
interesting piece and unique. you seem to be emotionally attached to those shoes that cover with you such a long path of your life. good flow and such an good ending that shows that bondage with the shoes. well done!
HBH -
Truly an excellent poem, you capture the feelings so well
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excellent !!
I am impressed with the overall tone of this and at first glance it almost appears superficially contrived….that was until I read this the second and third times. Then I made the discovery that this was truly meant to be read aloud; such wonderful assonance and flow. The rhymes are well done and keep it flowing; completely unnecessary, to my mind. It’s sort of like a runway model will look great wearing a burlap sack kind of thing—this would be lovely in any form as there are so many wonderful images here. Well done, good poet, well done. Thanks for letting me know it was here. Again, I hope you enjoy the stay here at A.P. Blessings and best wishes, ~richard
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What a wonderful piece of work from you..... You manage to make me visualise the old/young down and out trudging along, his most precious possession being his shoes.... From what I have seen of today's homeless people their all have that one thing they don't want to give up.... For some it could be like you have said here a pair of odd shoes for others it might be that wollen hat they wear or a shappy old coat.... Once again a brilliant write and keep it up.....SHAZ
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