Did you ever
wonder about them? About the man who had put them there, and why. I say ‘man’
only because – though unisex in style – they were rather large trainers. We
should always question assumptions: plenty of bigfoot women out there after all.
An instant cast-off,
in favour of pair newly bought? Surely not, as soundly laced and seeming little
worn. The nearby clothes bank maybe a step too far, or full? But any hand-me-down lover would have to brave
both public gaze and the heavy traffic.
Perhaps – in
their dead centre placement, laid precisely parallel to the zebra stripes – an
homage to Magritte? Or McCartney crossing Abbey Road. The invisible drawn to
our attention in the way a thunderclap enhances your hearing, just for a moment.
Did rubber
soles get stuck on the tarmac’s blistering heat? Simple explanations are often
true. Ever since I’ve speculated on how thick-skinned his feet were. Yes, he could
have been wearing socks. Friends do question the detail of my recollection.
Nowadays I
snapshot all abandoned clothing. Mostly single gloves, happened on in winter
months. An odd scarf now and then; just the one hat. Shoes are rare – unless
you look up at trees. Every picture hides a story.
iv. 2019 – i. 2020
Trying to write outside my settled form, but falling down uncomfortably between monologue and prose poem.
ReplyDeleteA true story regardless. As seen in la Rochelle one summer holiday.