Sunday, January 13, 2008

Shoes

We cannot speak for you
we have not walked your path
the path that wore down your shoes
the shoes that are now piled high
in glass cases that we file past
silently.

We have not walked your path
and cannot speak for you
but silence allows your deaths

again and again and again.


previously published at: Poetry Songs and Writers in Scotland.



Journeys for Read Write Poem

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh the ending of this is very fine, Juliet. Powerful.

paisley said...

and i for one am thrilled not to have the suffocating responsibility of judging anyone or anything ,,, but myself... very nicely done.....

Anonymous said...

The repeating lines work well here, mimicing the lines of visitors filing past. Great images and sounds.

Anonymous said...

Pithy. And timely.

Linda Jacobs said...

That ending! Wonderful! It slowed me down and I savored it!

Deb said...

Incredibly powerful.

I immediately thought about the huge greyed pile of shoes at the Washington, DC Holocost Museum.

Anonymous said...

Shoes have so much to say. The repetitions sticks to the mind.

Anonymous said...

Chilling & powerful, Juliet.

Crafty Green Poet said...

paisley - thanks, its about witnessing, nut judging

deb - I wrote it after visiting Auschwitz.

Gautami - specially these shoes

Jo, Dick, Linda, mariacristina, sb - thanks

Anonymous said...

A long walk poem with effective use of repetition with variation, 'path...past' The rhythm has care taken over it, and the structure, this care in the writing gives the whole piece a deeply respectful tone, perfectly appropriate to its setting and theme. There is a depth in the imagery. The central metaphor is not strained. All in all a very effective, carefully composed poem which speaks with great elegance of solemn respect and dignity.

Crafty Green Poet said...

serious review there, gingatao, thanks!

Anonymous said...

This is really good. The repetiition works for me, too.

claireylove said...

That last verse is masterful, Juliet.

susan said...

Really appreciate the message here.

Please join us at The Last Piaster. Our aim is to present writing exercises designed to sharpen old poetic tools and provide you with new ones. New piasters will be posted on Sundays. Periodically, we’ll ask permission to share your drafts.

Ruby Re-Usable said...

thanks for sharing your poem about shoes, now I will have to look for more! love, etc Ruby