Shoes For The Dead

[rrw]

One of the first poems I wrote for this class I was taking. Has a bit of cussing in it. Hope that's okay. If not, I can move it off the main board.-rrw


Bought me some brand new Chucks for school!
They got The Joker painted on ‘em, all white faced
and grinning like a evil idiot... AND... flying out
of his twisted mouth the words:

HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!

That’s The Joker... laughing.

The Batman (much smaller than his arch enemy)
is lurking about... on the instep. He’s smiling too,
but real shy like, soft like, like... like
he hopes the world won’t notice he was ever there.


Heath Ledger played The Joker, you know, and then died.
Now, some people say Heath ledger died by accident,
and other people say he died on purpose,
and some other people say...

Playing The Joker killed Heath Ledger!

Man, that’s weird.

I mean, people die all the time, you know.
All the time. I mean, I bet there’s whole lot more dead
people in this world than there are real people.
It’s a fact... look it up.

Sometimes people got famous because
they died. There was this little girl who
got herself murdered awhile back.
Boy, did she get herself famous... real fast. Now,
everybody in the world likes her—NO—loves her.
They’re very sad that she’s gone even though...
they never met her.

So, I’m back in school ‘cause I want to learn stuff
‘cause everybody I know keeps telling me...

You don’t know nothing.

So, I enrolled in this creative writing class, and
I go in this big, BIG lecture hall, and there’s
this professor guy standing there saying
a bunch of stuff for a long time (a very long time)
and I try to write it all down.

After a while (a very long while) he stops talking
and asks...

Are there any questions?

So, I ask a question and then,
he takes off his glasses, gets
right in my face and whispers...

Your mother’s a whore.

Now, I’m not sure why he said that.
But it must be true.
I mean, he’s a professor, you know?
Those professor guys know
a lot of shit about a bunch of shit
that we ordinary folk don’t know shit about... AND...
He’s a professor, you know?!
For God sakes, he wouldn’t lie.

I ain’t gonna wear them new Chucks to school yet cause
it’s too hot outside and they hurt my feet.
I can’t wear ‘em at all ‘til get ‘em broke in.
When I get ‘em broke in...
then I’ll wear ‘em.

Then people will see me on campus and
they’ll say,

Look! That old guy’s
got The Joker on his tennis shoes!

and they’ll laugh at me... just like The Joker.
They won’t see the Batman... hiding on the instep. –rrw 1-15-12

[michaelgallatin]

Seems to me an interesting poem about peoples' perceptions of others and of life and death. I found it a compelling read though I don't claim to derive a deep meaning from it beyond what I just said. I thought it was rather perplexing, especially the teacher yelling "your mother's a whore".

Take care,
Mike

[johan]

No matter what you write Rob, there is always something that has the reader wanting to read again and get that ooomph that all your poetry has, great work as always my friend.

Johan

[rrw]

Jan 15, 2012 22:45:29 GMT -5 michaelgallatin said:

Seems to me an interesting poem about peoples' perceptions of others and of life and death. I found it a compelling read though I don't claim to derive a deep meaning from it beyond what I just said. I thought it was rather perplexing, especially the teacher yelling "your mother's a whore".

Take care,
Mike

I think it's about the weird things people say, do and think... for no reason that the reader can discern why they said it or what it really means.... even the speaker does and says things and has certain opinions about things that make no sense to the reader. But I guess that's just the way we folks are... we don't make a hell of a lot of sense most of the time. To me not being able to think through things and come up with a logical response is like being dead... but, in a way, it's the most alive most of us get.
It is perplexing. I really don't understand how people could say that an actor died because he did a good acting job... but some people believe it's possible.

[rrw]

Jan 16, 2012 13:35:24 GMT -5 johan said:

No matter what you write Rob, there is always something that has the reader wanting to read again and get that ooomph that all your poetry has, great work as always my friend.

Johan

Thanks, Johan! It was just a spontanious response to a lot of things I experienced when I started the writing class... things that I just don't understand.

[purplespirit]

Though this surely is a great poem, feels special by the character of a letter or of a notice in diary - I'm a bit lost for words of comment here. To me the main message seems, that whether beggar or professor, we must not listen too much on what people think of us, they can be wrong due to fast prejudice. Re- it I just think perhaps you would have to stand in the place of the professor - - - Thank you. Ulla xx

[rrw]

Not sure, PS, if there is a message. More like an observation: People are weird and almost totally incomprehensible... I'm so surprised by what people do, say and think sometimes I just have to look at them with mouth open wonder! AND I do, say and think things sometimes that I can't understand! But that's the beauty of being alive, life and the people in it are unpredictable.