Slice of Life Story Day 28 Today I Have A Sneaking Feeling

A small six year old boy came to visit with us on the weekend and during his time in our care, he is taken shopping. He returns beaming because he has a brand new pair of shoes. He also has a pair of rainbow coloured laces. The kind that announce themselves with colourful intent. He asks if the everyday laces that came with the new shoes can be removed and replaced with the dazzling rainbow laces. This wish is achievable.  The new cool shoes are now really cool shoes in the eyes of the wee one. He parades back and forth looking continually at his feet as he steps out like a fahsionista.  I tell him he is now a confirmed fashion icon. He smiles that slightly uncertain smile that kids do when an adult says something slightly beyond their world of awareness. He changes the focus.
‘My feet have grown Papa,’ he informs me, ‘And my old sneakers are too worn out for winter.’
‘Well, these new ones look great.’ I add assuredly.

New shoes always lift the spirits. New shoes at any age are a source of inner joy. Comfort and style linking  to create the perfect combination. Sometimes it is a short quest and happens quickly. Sometimes you do a lot of sole searching before you find shoe heaven.

 He tells me that his new all black shoes will be great in the winter as they won’t show the mud. He is shoe proud. I like the thinking. Throughout the day he cleans away the slightest speck from the surface of the sneakers. This is an impressive start. It won’t last. He is after-all a small boy and as a small boy he will have other priorities to attend to in the days and weeks ahead. Priorities that will relegate cleaning and preening to the end of the adventure queue.

This buying of new shoes had me thinking –poetry! I can’t believe I have got this far into this year’s writing challenge without sailing off in the direction of my favourite genre. Today, my oxygen comes directly from the changing of the sneakers…

Sneaker Look

Discarded sneakers
Scuffed and mangled
Laces frayed
Twisted
Tangled
Both lay rejected by the door
They‘ll not see action any more
No more housing smelly socks
Running
Leaping
Scrambling rocks
The sole is smooth
Colour faded
Worn out torn out
Dejected
Jaded
And worst of all
On each sad shoe
Is a giant hole
Where a toe pokes through
Their value has at last diminished
Sad to say
-Their sneaking’s finished

Alan j Wright

Comments

  1. Kevin Hodgson28 March 2011 at 20:43

    As a dad of three growing boys, I know all about sneakers. Love the poem.
    Kevin

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wanda Brown28 March 2011 at 21:10

    Alan, this was a fun post to consume. You made me smile. My little boys are all grown now but how I remember those new sneakers. You captured it just the way I remember it. The poem was dessert.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Carol29 March 2011 at 01:05

    Your poem, actually, your entire post, made me smile. My boys are teenagers and as far as they are concerned, there is nothing better than a new pair of tennis shoes.

    ReplyDelete
  4. LibraryDragon/Storykeeper29 March 2011 at 01:09

    Alan,

    Your post and poem made me smile and brought many images to mind. I loved the play on words "sole".

    ReplyDelete
  5. Linda B29 March 2011 at 04:19

    The rhythm is great, goes along with a little boy skipping & bouncing around in his new sneakers. You gave me a big smile today. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Elizabeth G.29 March 2011 at 06:14

    I am not a poetry person but I loved the rhythmn of your poem. It ran off my tongue like the sneakers you wrote about. It's amazing what new shoes can do for a child. I've had many children walk through the door eager to shoe off their new shoes. I'm sure the laces were a big hit too.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous29 March 2011 at 09:34

    I love your poem. It is one that everyone can relate to.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Donna Smith29 March 2011 at 10:22

    Very well done. Loved it! Reminded me of my daughter too, with her new shoes...so shiny, so clicky, so comfortable she wore them to bed!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous29 March 2011 at 12:12

    Magnificent poem. Different shoes floated through my mind. I love the fact that the young one is cleaning every speck and yes, other priorities will come in. The quick conversation gave the piece an added touch.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sprice29 March 2011 at 12:36

    loved your poem! The life of a sneaker would be an intersting thing for a student to write about as well. Great idea for a poem! Thanks for sharing! Happy Slicing! :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. CSPeterson29 March 2011 at 13:46

    I loved every bit of this post. And so did my two sons! Rainbow laces... sole searching - ha! What fun! Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Magical Ms. M30 March 2011 at 15:02

    Alan,
    There is some great language in here, "sole searching," "He is shoe proud." I also appreciated your reference to story kernels as "oxygen." Indeed - life's joys breath life into our reading.
    Thank you for sharing,
    Erin

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular With Other Visitors

Writing Opposite Poems

Image
 O pp o s ite  P oem s In his book, ' How To Write Poetry,'  Paul Janeczko presents the idea of opposite poems. Paul suggests they could also be referred to as antonym poems. This is wordplay and it's fun to try. Here are some examples Paul provides to help us see very clearly how these short little poems work. I think the opposite of chair Is sitting down with nothing there What is the opposite of kind? A goat that butts you from behind Paul Janeczko You will  notice the poems are written in rhyming couplets. They can be extended so long as you remember to write in couplets. Paul shows us how this is done. What is the opposite of new? Stale gum that's hard to chew A hot-dog roll as hard as rock Or a soiled and smelly forgotten sock You might notice that some of Paul's opposite Poems begin with a question. The remainder of the poem answer the question posed. Opposite poems are a challenge, but it is a challenge worth trying. Not eve...
Read more

Writing About Reading - Reading Reflection Journals:

Image
UPDATED February 2022 Writing in response to literature can be a great way for students to organize their thoughts, explore what they think, and generate ideas. One of the strengths of writing in journals is that it allows students to capture all of those great ideas that generally float off into the air during the discussion.  Journal writing can also become drudgery if students are asked to write too often, given little choice or inspiration in what to write, or if they simply don't have anything to say. While some students eagerly share their impressions about selections they have read in class discussions, others are less comfortable and keep their thoughts to themselves. In an effort to encourage all students to think more about what they read and confidently share their observations and opinions, some teachers are turning to the reading reflection journal and are gaining insights they never anticipated.  The Value of Reflection Journals   Journals assist teachers...
Read more

Learning How to 'Zoom In' When Writing

Image
It is important for young writers to understand that not all parts of a story are equal. There are parts through which a writer moves quickly, and important parts where the writer slows down and lingers a while. This is where the writer might intensify the action or reveal the character’s reactions in greater detail. Young writers need to know that this is a deliberate strategy on the part of the author. The author consciously zooms in. The writer uses a magnifying glass to view a part of the story more closely; to focus on a moment and to slow down time. When an important part of the story is enlarged upon, it   is a signal to the reader, that this part of the story is important. The strategy of ‘zooming in’ goes by many names: ‘exploding a moment’ ‘magnifying a moment’, ‘hotspot’ ‘snapshot’, ‘adding detail’ or ‘slowing the action.’  What ever the name, the idea is the same. The author writes in a way that expands a significant part of the story with the intentio...
Read more

Slice Of Life Story-The Trials Of A Left Handed Writer

Image
Amazingly I learnt to write using my left hand. An achievement against the prevailing beliefs of the day. My very first teacher saw it as her mission in life to ‘fix’ the poor, wretched little boy suffering from what she clearly diagnosed as left handed disease. She must have thought, 'This child must be re formatted! If he remains left handed he will be forever condemned to writing in a scrawl that no one will be able to read. Ugly hand, ugly hand.' ...They tried to say it couldn't be done, it mustn't be done. They took the pencil out of my left hand and placed it in my right hand. It felt unnatural. It felt weird. It was not right. More to the point it was not left. I was not about to conform. At least they didn't try tying my hand behind my back. Watch me I said. I may be an oddball, left handed scribbler but I am a determined oddball. I mean how boring would the world be if everyone wrote with their right hand? So I dug my toes in –and my hands to...
Read more

Answering Questions Posed by Young POETS

Image
UPDATED, May 2020 As a frequent visitor to schools I have the great pleasure of working with groups of young, enthusiastic poets and their teachers. When I arrive in a classroom, young poets are often pre-loaded with questions, and most keen to have them answered.  I try to answer as many as I can, but we frequently run out of time, and the poetry caravan moves on to the next classroom. So I am here to answer some of those questions -right here, right now. So here goes: When you were little did you love writing? The short answer is yes. I have always enjoyed words and language. I can't recall a time when I wasn't doing some kind of writing. When did you write your first poetry book? I have had poems published over the years, but it wasn't until 2014 that I had an entire book of poems (an anthology) published. When I looked back through all my notebooks I realized I had hundreds of poems from which to choose. So, 'Searching For Hen's Teeth-Poetry From The ...
Read more