Socks

a collaboration with Cherrie Palmer and Einstein Noodle to visit Cherrie follow this link! https://www.writerscafe.org/Cherrie_Palmer

 

Socks

What is not…

is the familiar smell of coffee

waking me.

and the socks the dryer ate

(the balance is so strangely off).

like wearing grown up shoes when I was little.

 What is not…

is your frown when I say-

Guess what?  

I smile with the memory .. and

ghosts whisper like                 

old leather skins and 

fuzzy drunken tongues.

What I miss…

is your smile when I

held you;

Your breath when I breathed you.

Like the thinness of sea spray now. 

This only ..........................

is the hope that caresses me now.

thin mist and fog

What is fixed…

Is your tear when we thought forever;

and your fear of the dark

wearing black laces to keep socks pulled up ..............

A cold damp cloth is telling on your face

What is left…

Me holding tight the moment;

and facing the day off balance.

One sock on. One sock lost

and shoes that don't fit.

5/03/21 Cherrie Palmer with E.

Author's Note

Cherrie Palmer made a comment to me about socks and I told her she better use it in a poem or I would. She sent me a first draft and told me to do what I will ... I did and we edited back a forth a bit and came up with this one. Hope you enjoy reading and feeling.

Reviews

[DIVYA]

This brought to me the little and big things that we miss about a loved one, once they're gone. And all that's left is a remembering and that too seems like a dream. We clutch on to it so tightly, so hard for fear of losing what's left but that too sifts away like the proverbial sand. A very touching poem, dear E....a myriad of emotions conveyed and felt so deeply. The picture felt heart-rending to me for some reason. Aren't soulmates like a pair of socks. .? If lost, no other may be found with such a close and snug fit.

I hope you're well and having a great day. In my thoughts and prayers always.

[Einstein Noodle]

i find your review sensitive and brings up old wells of sorrow reading it .. thank you so much for taking time to walk in our shoes (and socks) ;) luv ya Divya! i am better than i deserve and not as good as i would wish ... i know you are doing great .. i can feel it! ;)
E.

[Cherrie Palmer]

Ya know William Michael Reeves ask me who wrote what on this poem and I just realized we completed each other's sentences. I've never written like that before and it certainly does work beautifully.

[Einstein Noodle]

yes!! i had not collaborated in such a way before either .. it really adds the the illusion of one voice, i think ... and i honestly can't say who did what either :)))))))) i'm happy you stopped to check on our work mon Cherrie ... the reviews are very encouraging and kind .. luv ya! stay safe up there in the North ;))))))))))))))))))))))))))
E.

[Cherrie Palmer]

Are you ready for some more nasty weather? I hear 🧊 rain is on the way.

[Cherrie Palmer]

And I so agree about the seamless voice our poem has.

[Einstein Noodle]

i am not ready darlin' ... but it is upon me .. sleet and snow ball drizzle ... the ground is white out there and the source is pittering on my tin roof .. but hey ... the daffodils for not care and will keep their trumpets skyward no matter ;)

[Cherrie Palmer]

My daffodils are putting on a brave face also.

[Einstein Noodle]

:))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) luv ya!

[Lisasview]

Hi there,
At first I had to laugh at the dryer ate my sock!! Boy have I heard that before...always so funny..but as I read on I found your poem to be so cleaver..Off kilter..
All the things that matter and all the things that do not.. What we care about and what we do not care about..maybe.. that is because the shoe doesn't always fit...
Loved this poem..
Lisa

[Einstein Noodle]

thank you Lisa .. i appreciate you taking time to read and comment .. yes! such little things can trigger deep emotions .. we carry them because they are so little ... ;)
E.

[JE Falcon]

This poem just goes to show, it's always the little things. As far as my favorite lines go, --- "Me holding tight the moment;
and facing the day off balance.
One sock on. One sock lost
and shoes that don't fit."

[Einstein Noodle]

Thanks JE ... i am so grateful for people taking another look at this one written almost a year ago .. you put me back in touch with the humanness of loss and sorrow .. thanks so much sir!
E.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

This was wonderful. I'm sorry I hadn't read it sooner. I like the off kilter edginess of it, reminiscent of the beat poets. It parries and thrusts in short jabs at the heart. I very much enjoyed.

[Einstein Noodle]

thank you, Fabian, for taking time and finding this one. I had a really good time doing it with Cherrie Palmer who instigated the whole thing... i feel pretty gratified you enjoyed reading sir .. thanks again!
E.

[Chris Shaw]

I love this poem so much just had to come back. That final stanza is so perfect to sum up that missing limb feeling. My sis going through this. First anniversary coming up since her husband died. In any case I haven:t checked in with you lately. This is a very belated happy new year, but better late than never. You take care now. Do ya hear me :)

Chris

[Einstein Noodle]

thanks so much, Chris. being read more than once is one of the most gratifying things for us, i think. i am sorry for your sister's loss. it is not fun in any way. she is fortunate to have an empathetic ear in you, Chris. Happy New Year to you too ... all day every day! :)
E.

[lightsong]

You can write with anyone dear E, You can yield to/with who writes with You wonderfully, and you know that's a talent I myself don't think am able to. honestly when I read the title I didn't expect at all to read such contain, You both did an outstanding job, it's not about the originally of this piece alone, but also the sincerity and depth of emotions delivered as if it's one person who wrote it. absolutely marvelous piece my friend

"(the balance is so strangely off).
like wearing grown up shoes when I was little."

what's more gentle and fragile than this to express what it means to be lost without the beloved... a genuine tear falls from the deep heart over these lines.

[Einstein Noodle]

your remarks are deeply expressed and felt by me Light! thanks so much .. no kinder nor encouraging review could you write .. blessings and peace love and joy always .. thank you so much for taking time and sharing your impressions .. i am a bit speechless .. thank you very much!
E.

[lightsong]

You both deserve it and knowing You over the years dear E, You deserve it all and more, You are one of the most respectful yet humble poets I've met here. and what a pleasure is that.

[Einstein Noodle]

(((((((((((((((((((((((((Lightsong)))))))))))))))))))))))))))

[Robert Trakofler]

The first thing I thought of when I read this title was socks the cat (in the Clinton white house:) Just when I fill a void, another one shows up, it is a never-ending task:/ I know that some voids are not truly refillable and perhaps we don't want to completely fill them... for even in the pain of it, the little bits of joy hidden inside the pain is too precious to completely lose. But then I am reminded of what those voids would tell me if they could (and sometimes do) they would say don't hobble about on one foot you fool I'm still here inside you and for goodness sakes buy a new pair of shoes you look like an idiot LOL a great collaboration here guys well done

[Einstein Noodle]

ahahahaha you offer sound wisdom sir! thanks for the chuckle as well .. yes one shoe off and one shoe on ... my son John ... isn't that how that one goes?! peace and love Bad Bunny! wishing you well and great fortune in your endeavors ..
E.

[Betty Hermelee]

I love the little memory snippets especially the last two , but the entire poem is much deeper than one see’s at the surface; these are real memories of a loved one in different stages of life; what’s left at the end is what you don’t like which is an old sock ( where is the other one? ) and the smell of coffee because those things are too mundane ( who wanted to think of them when you can reminisce all day long.
Well done!
Best
B

[Einstein Noodle]

Thanks Betty! not easy to clump around in one shoe and one sock .. the missing part always drawing one's attention ... thank you for reading with such sensitivity .. truly appreciate the time you took to read and review .. it's important! :)
E.

[Betty Hermelee]

Thank you, you write such great reviews for my poetry and mine are from the heart; so are your comments!

[Einstein Noodle]

:))) I get a bit wordy at times .. enjoy immersing myself as much as i can in others writing .. i really like you avatar pic as well .. did you paint it?

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

I loved this it’s so damn clever
I loved the last verse the best
What is left verse
Brilliant I say !

[Einstein Noodle]

what a big smile your review has put on me face this morning Julie! thank you so much!
E.