Giant Shoes

Bits of twig and uprooted willows
tangle in hollow bank-side shadows
haunted by a mist of winter gnats.
Hoar frost sparkles on the slats
of rowing boats and canoes,
abandoned like a giant’s shoes,
the kind you find at the side of a road,
dumped without its pair. Bubbles implode
in the eddy of a turning fish,
icy tears that splash and splish
with the patter of last leaves from the trees,
plucked by the fingers of a biting breeze.

Kim M. Russell, 2017

Related image
Image found on Pinterest

My response to dVerse Poets Pub Meeting the Bar: I Once Used an Earthquake – Symbolism

Victoria is our host this Thursday. She says that while she was browsing some of her old poems, she ran across one in which she used an earthquake to stand for fear of change. As writers, we often turn to this tool, to express the depth of our thoughts and beliefs.

She goes on to say that, when we write symbolically, we choose something tangible to convey a more abstract concept or a mood/emotion. Rather than just saying something blatantly, the poet or writer uses, for example, autumn to convey later mid-life or a spider to express fear. Victoria has kindly pointed us towards an extensive list of literary symbols to guide us in the poem she would like us to write for this prompt: express an idea, emotion or mood symbolically without saying anything directly.

43 thoughts on “Giant Shoes”

  10. Your words have a beautiful sing-song quality Kim.
    I have read several times and wonder if your words direct us to an awful winter (thrust upon us) by those who wear big shoes in the political arena…if so, you are right.
    Anna :o]

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  16. Oh my, Kim! I’m sitting here in the early morning with my cup of coffee and I was marveling at your words and then….I saw the image! The image is amazing!!! As are your words…I especially like “plucked by the fingers of a biting breeze.” So many times we have the personification of the naked shivering trees as skeletons….but to personify the breeze…wondrous! 🙂
    And this:
    “Hoar frost sparkles on the slats
    of rowing boats and canoes,
    abandoned like a giant’s shoes”
    I can see the frost…and I LOVE the idea of the row boats and canoes, empty now, maybe tilted there, as giant’s shoes 🙂
    A delightful read early this morning. Thank you!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.