feet

01/11/08

“if your feet are no good, you’re no good,” is what he said to me one day.
The source, a man who spent the past five years on the street
Unfortunately, I think no feet are good anyway
So I hide mine away from eyes to see
Away from hands to touch
Away from fetishes to satisfy

His shadow no longer hovers over the hometown skyline since it’s decided to relocate somewhere to the west.
It’s a dream that’s grown use to portability & now fits perfectly in the crannies of an old storage box that’s probably now covered with dust.
It’s those things you never go out of your way to look for that manage to creep back up on you later.
Technology today makes it impossible for anyone to completely leave your life forever.

Don’t take for granted the terror that lingers behind the eyes of the men you pass each day on the curbside.
Don’t assume their search for peace is not as valid as your own.
It’s with the best of the intentions to watch my face light up, as you tell me about the circus coming to town.
And just as my heart becomes a flutter, you casually hold up a mirror to my face & I’m reminded of my fear of clowns.

I watch as light breaks the fall of the reflection on the concrete & gently places there a shadow of her crooked frame.
But she embraces it with tenderness and becomes graffiti in this wilderness, painted against buildings in this city, beneath pastel rag hats, hidden behind black frames & purple lenses which on her slender nose rest –
Her burden of being upright and her 34c cup breasts.
Each part of her body blends into the next, creating a chalky charcoal mess on the sidewalk,
amongst broken beer bottles & half empty coffee cups.
Amongst pigeon droppings & cigarette butts.
These are the wildflowers that grow rapidly throughout the land, receiving nourishment through constant forgiveness.
Dancing when we dance. Keep moving when we move. Keep moving when we are standing still. With both feet.
Both feet planted firmly on the ground. Wildflowers growing quickly between our toes, faster than we can even hear, “if your feet are no good, you are no good.”