Converse Black Label Gym Shoes My mother possessed an arsenal of proverbs, idioms and cliches, which she used to comment on almost every situation. I became increasingly annoyed with her trite statements that never actually answered a question or solved a problem. Just some pointless remarks that didn't offer a solution. Let me give you a couple of examples so you have a better understanding. "Mom, I don't know what to buy with my birthday money?" I'd ask. "A fool and his money are soon parted." She'd answer. After getting mixed up in some trouble. "I promise it won't happen again mom. I'm sorry." "A leopard can't change his spots." You get the idea. I think she felt it made her appear educated by using them in conversation. I always respected my mother and loved her dearly. I just couldn't take listening to any more worn out, unoriginal and overused sayings that I didn't consider clever or helpful. I desperately needed Gym Shoes for my Physical Education class in High School. I had worn a pair of wrestling shoes handed down from my older brother during Junior High School that were two sizes too big. I was razzed and teased by my classmates constantly. The worst part was having to wear them at dances held in the Gym. No " Street Shoes" on the wood court floor. There's a huge disadvantage being the youngest boy in a family with three older brothers. Besides being told what to do all the time, getting pushed around or being pummeled whenever they felt like it, most of my clothes were hand me downs. Occasionally my mother would even sneak underwear my brothers had worn into my dresser drawer. I became wise to her high jinx and I threw them in the garbage. I seldom received new clothes which didn't bother me all that much because shopping for clothes with my mother was torture. Her fashion sense was trapped in the fifties. There wouldn't be any tie-dyed or paisley shirts, bell bottom jeans or pointed toe shoes if she was buying. I always ended up looking like Beaver Cleaver or Opie Taylor. I waited for the perfect moment to approach my mother with my request for new gym shoes. The old man left with my sister over to my grandparent's house. My older brothers were gone leaving just her and I in the house. I asked if she needed help preparing dinner. She accepted my offer although with a hint of suspicion. " Yes, that would be wonderful. Could you cut up some carrots, celery, tomatoes and cucumbers for the salad? And while you're doing that you can tell me what you've wanted to ask me all day. Don't cut off your fingers, be careful." There was no pulling one over on my mother; she had honed her skills from raising my three older brothers. " Mom, I really need gym shoes for P.E. I'd like a new pair of my own that fit me. Please." " What's wrong with the shoes you have now? You didn't seem to have a problem with them in Junior High." " Mom, they're wrestling shoes, they get dirty real quick and they're two sizes too big. I gotta stuff 'em with socks or toilet paper to make 'em fit. I can't run or jump and do stuff while wearing them." " Honey, I'm not sure we can afford them right now. I just paid for your brother's high school class ring. And the dentist bill came due as well." I expected her to use that excuse and I had prepared for such an answer. " Mom, I've saved nine dollars from my birthday and from mowing lawns. We can use that and you can help pay the difference. Please mom, I really need gym shoes." I whined. "I don't want you to have to use your own money. Let me think about it and mention it to your father." " Well I need them on Monday or I'm not going to class. I'll take the demerit and detention.I'm not wearing those wrestling shoes and let people make fun of me. I put up with it all through junior high and am not going to do it again." I screamed. My anger was getting the best of me. Then it happened, she did the one thing that sent me into a complete raging maniac. " Listen to me. I cried because I had no shoes and then I met a man with no feet." She preached. "Oh ya, well I'd ask the man with no feet for his shoes since he didn't need them." I hollered. "What the fuck does that have to do with what we're talking about?" I had completely lost it. The words just spilled out of my mouth without thinking about what I was yelling. I could see the result of my tirade in my mother's face. " What did you say? Who do you think you're talking to mister? Don't you get fresh with me! You will treat me with respect. Do you understand? I never want to hear that kind of language out of your mouth again. I don't appreciate your response to my proverb. You know that verse is in the Bible, Jesus Christ said it." There it was, whenever she needed to validate a statement or fact the Bible was the source from where it originated. Then adding that Jesus had said it meant it was an irrefutable fact. I wasn't going to contradict her statement although I knew the proverb wasn't in the Bible and Jesus never said it. All it would do is piss her off even more and I was already in deep shit. . It wasn't often when my mother became angry, but when she did the heavens would shake. "You've really crossed the line Santiago. If I told your father about this he'd make sure you never used that word in this house again." "I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell him. Besides I picked up the word from him. It's one of his favorites and he uses it for everything. I'm really sorry for saying that mom. Just lost my temper and took it out on you. Please forgive me. " "To err is human, to forgive is divine." She lectured. Did she really just say that? Throwing gasoline on the fire. Now she's got me doing it. No! I was one step closer to insanity. "Are you finished there? Why don't you go to your room and think about what you did. Go on." " Mom I'm fourteen years old and you're sending me to my room? Don't you think I'm too old for that kind of punishment?" "You get to your room right this minute. Don't you start disobeying me. I'll call you for dinner. Now go young man." Sure I'm a young man and she's sending me to my room. I thought it was ridiculous to send me there with my TV, record player, radio, games and books. What a harsh punishment. "And no TV, music or games. Read a book." She hollered up the stairs. " No wait, no reading books either. I forgot you like that." "Can I do my homework that's due on Monday?" " Yes, that's good. Do your homework. I'll call you for dinner in a couple of hours." " Thanks mom." "Your father just pulled into the driveway." "Mom please don't…" "Don't worry, I'll keep it between us " " I dashed over to the heat vent connected to the dining room to listen to what was being said. "Where's Judge?" "Did you buy them and in the right size?" "Yes I did." " He's upstairs doing his homework. And look at you Jocelyn, did you get new shoes? How pretty." I heard my mother say. My sister got new shoes. What the hell is going on? I have to beg and plead for a new pair of gym shoes that are required for school and my sister gets shoes instead. Of course that sounds about right. I was thoroughly pissed off but there was nothing I could do about the injustice I was subjected to by this family. Why is everyone so hard on me? I can't get a break. I woke up to my brother shaking me and slapping my face. "Get up, squirt, time for dinner." "Okay, I'm awake, stop slapping me asshole." "Let's go. And just to warn you the Dad is in a pissed off mood. So be careful. You hear me?" "Ya thanks for the heads up." I sat down at the table while my mother was talking. "And Santiago helped with dinner and made the salad." "Why, what'd he do wrong?" My brother George commented. "I'll have everything except the salad." My sister said. Everyone began to laugh. I had just loaded my plate with manicotti and red sauce when the Old Man started his line of questioning. "So Judge, your mother told be that…" She ratted me out to the Old Man after she said she wouldn't. Damn it that just isn't fair. I figured it was best to confess so I'd have a chance to explain. " It was an accident. I didn't mean to yell and swear at her. I lost my temper and it just came out. I told her I was sorry and would never use the word again. I feel horrible about what I did." "What in the hell are you talking about? I was going to say I bought you some new gym shoes, Converse Black Label Gym Shoes. Now what did you call your mother?" "He didn't call me anything. He used profanity when he became upset, that's all." Mom said in my defense. " I told you I'd keep it between us and wouldn't say anything. Now you went and opened Pandora's box." On top of my screw up she had to add an idiom. "I don't know what's going on here . But could you at least say thank you and tell me you like them." The Old Man said. He handed me a shoebox but my brother intercepted it handing it off to the other then to my sister then to my mother. She got up and walked to me with the shoebox. She gave me a kiss and the whole table erupted in a taunting chorus of awe. "Sometimes Santiago you are your own worst enemy." She whispered. "Oh hell yes. Converse Black Label Gym Shoes! Thanks mom and you too." I said looking at the Old Man. "I'm gonna try 'em on now!" "Did he say hell yes?" The Old Man asked.
Monthly Archives: July 2022
Poetry from John Sweet
self-portrait in tar
and words aren’t actions,
and prayer is as
meaningless as regret
the temperature is a nervous
stutter between rain and snow
the town is a vast expanse of
empty parking lots, of
grey shot through with crushed
plastic and dead leaves
i have wasted my life
i am afraid of growing old and
dying in front of my children
i am afraid of
growing old and dying
in the end we are only
something
subtracted from nothing
the drowning years
it’s always the same stupid shit,
always these self-inflicted wounds
his 15 year-old girlfriend pregnant, the
asshole from the barfight in a
coma and not expected to live but
brenda laughs, says why not
dead-end job at the minimart and her
boyfriend doing six months in county, and he
says his stepfather has a place down
in north carolina
tells her he’s had a crush on her
since middle school, and she
asks if it’s gonna be a boy or a girl
and he says he doesn’t want to know
doesn’t really give a shit
one way or the other,
and she nods
tells him she needs to
leave a note for her sister
needs to feed the dog
small, ordinary acts to help her
feel like she’s
moving into the future
the forest of the profane
early autumn frost in the
shadows of sunlit buildings, all
blue sky and junkie dreams
man walking past you says he’s
got god in his veins
says there are other
versions of hell that have nothing to
do with faith, and his smile
is filled with blood
this town is where i live
but it’s not my home
this idea of judas as scapegoat
needs to be reconsidered
despair is a sickness
not a weapon
but it will always be used by
tyrants to beat you down
will you suffer the first blow or
will you burn down the castle?
will you set the gospel aside
and hear the truth instead?
all choices come to an end when
the dog you fail to praise
decides to take your tongue
as his own
skeleton afternoon
this is the man with no eyes who
tells me he pities my blindness
this is the party to celebrate
the death of the deathless kingdom
i fuck his wife in the back seat of
someone else’s car or
he seduces my daughter before
they both disappear
a stalemate
a gun for every starving child
so they can all grow up safe
even here in this cramped and
sullen space between
disposable gods
we are all someone’s enemy
notes on ideology
good times in the suicide
factory down on your hands and knees
swallow the cock or swallow
the barrel, and
how many choices do you really need?
how many lives are you planning on
screwing up other than your own?
goddamn kids gotta grow up
sooner or later, i guess
can’t be sucking at their
mother’s tit forever
they need to know they’re useless
need to know how much blood is
required to solve each problem, and
maybe you have to smack them around
a little to drive your point home
maybe a house gets burned to the ground,
maybe a car gets stolen or some
fifteen year-old girl from the
trailer park out at the edge of town
gets knocked up, but this shit
happens every day
you fuck or you get fucked
you walk or you crawl
a lifetime of meaningless rules and
blown chances, and then
you die
and the story ends the
body is found,
but how do we get there?
same goddamn way
every time
14 yr old girl sits on her bed,
curtains pulled,
father’s gun,
instructions on her laptop screen
knowledge is power,
right?
puts the muzzle to her head and
pulls the trigger, and so
turn the music up a
little louder
send flowers
bring shovels
a lot of bodies left to be
buried before this
part of the story ends
halcyon
tired of being so fucking
old, and tired of all
the goddamn years i wasted
tired of being on
the wrong coast
or not being able
to forget your face
of everything i write
sounding
like a suicide note
Poetry from Mahbub
The Padma Bridge The moon has risen in the dreamy sky of us From Mawa to Janjira you dreamt of Linking the two parts over the river Padma 25 June 2022, the plan got established It blazed the light on the dark river Long waited love came to light Joining the south and western part of the country to Dhaka city Facing the challenge we once had for freedom in 1971 Our great leader Bangobandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman handled the leadership His fittest daughter Sheikh Hasina, our prime minister Just proved how brave she is in her heart and fruitful her merit! The Padma Bridge provided us all to live in connection Mitigating the needs from one part of the river to everywhere in speed. Chapainawabganj, Bangladesh 28/06//2022 Fire Fire is in, fire is out The heart is firing for sex On the other it's firing in love Look! the bodies are firing in the container depot fire at Chattogram In some distance the body is fired on suicide The sun-burnt eyes are firing in terror On the other some are firing in anger or pain Some are firing for the absence of the lovers or beloveds The garments factories are firing with bodies of the workers Plastic warehouses containing hazardous chemicals At Nimtota of Chawkbazar in Old Dhaka fired hundreds of lives Some are firing with the neighbors to win the fight Some are smiling with fire Over the glory of entering into world unknown Chapainawabganj, Bangladesh 28/06//2022
Poetry from Stephen Jarrell Williams
"The End Again" (Trilogy) "Depopulated" Desolate the land of cities buildings like decapitated statues streets covered in chucks of ruin slump shouldered we wandered for months finding the rims of the far mountains forests covering where we hid our quiet settlement of the depopulated survivors thankful and now unhurried accepting weak walls and roofs of tree rain and ponds and a lake of sweet water faraway from the sea full of past pollutants our children now no longer afraid they play and sing and we listen trying to forget the long ago explosions my wife tenderly touching scars on my back loving me at night darkness still memories of the dying and what we could have done. "The Wind" My brothers often visit trying to give me a constant of cheer telling me where they've been and what they've seen assuring me the sea recovering stench of death disappearing schools of fish returning without sores that never heal my brothers have found and married young wives with unblistered skin boats rebuilt and sails tall in the wind many new islands blossoming some seeing a gondola balloon with people waving above the clouds wind cleansing past the horizon world freeing flowers again. "Just Like the Old Days" The old man walked into our new village claiming nothing changes men fighting again over land and women and beliefs shaking his head with tears beard matted like his hair prepare yourselves he warned they've repaired their guns bullets reclaimed from the ruins helmets and knives and brass knuckles with a maniac in charge speaking smooth words dripping with poison promising the power of hell in his back pocket the old man laughed and spit looking at my wife and kids and peaceful land you should tell the others chaos is coming again returning with twisted faces eyeing every direction where you dream and live but this time maybe you will pray a little more and mean it.
Poetry from Shakhzoda Kodirova
My motherland! My country, you are so beautiful, You are charming, You are spectacular There is no equal in beauty, You are a paradise. You are the only one in the country. There is no word for your description, You are the most unique country. We love you dearly, We are faithful to you. We will introduce your dear name to the world. ✍ Shakhzoda Kodirova Good and rewarding work For many years, a small stream flowing from the side of the river made Cain's heart ache. Because once upon a time, clean and clear water flowed from this ditch, people used it to quench their thirst and rejuvenate their gardens. No one would throw garbage in the ditch, and whoever saw the dumped garbage would clean it immediately. Unfortunately, by this time there was no "trace" left of the clear water in the ditch. The younger generation did not listen to the words of their old ancestors, but instead of reducing the waste in the ditch, contributed to its increase. Despite the fact that he was over 80 years old, Mahmud himself was the head and wanted to do a hashar to clean the river, so he called young teenagers, strong men from house to house, and asked for help from the neighborhood. Unfortunately, many did not have the patience to clean the river, which was full of garbage. And it didn't work either. Finally, Grandpa Mahmud thoughtfully went to his old companions. Gathering them together, he got everyone’s opinion on the matter. The old men agreed and decided to clean the river themselves. Not many people know how good it is to clean a ditch, and those who do know do so without breaking the bank. Is there no one willing to clean this small ditch that has been flowing for years ?! If they need to irrigate their gardens, they are ready immediately. but to clean up ... Well, let's clean up as much as we can, said Mahmud looking at his comrades angrily. So the old men got to work. Ketmon in hand, belt at waist. Seeing this zeal in the elders, some honest people came and joined them. Some were embarrassed and apologized to Mahmud. The neighborhood gathered the workers again, this time they were full of enthusiasm. Volunteers also came and began to join. The work is "hot". Neighboring women were busy cooking for the hard-working hashers. Thanks to 3 days of hard work, the river was completely free of waste. Grandpa Mahmud joined the ranks of veterans for his efforts to clean the river. When he addressed the villagers, he said, "The most important thing, you know, is that you and I have a great reward. Cleaning the canal is the best and most rewarding thing to do". Flower garden 🌸 I went to Gulzor today, I saw a lot of flowers. They were more beautiful than each other, And the smell was fragrant. It charms person The fragrance of every flower. It attracts, when you smell it. I really like, These fragrant beautiful flowers. It lifts your spirits, Friends, look at this. Rose, basil, tulip Colors are red, green I sweat from them, I make many bouquets. ✍ Shakhzoda Kodirova The world 🌎 What a world it is, Both transient and deceptive. What a world this is, After all. No man can live in this world, For a thousand years. No one can remain in such a world, Eternally. So my friends, Let's do a lot of good. Let us not be deceived by The way of Satan. Let us not sink into sin. Without thinking of the Hereafter. Let us do good as much As we can. We know that in this world, Tests are not rare. We will defeat them, If we have a little patience. The world, the world is the end, Never complain friends. Do not despair and torment yourself And let's do good !!! ✍️Shakhzoda Kodirova
Shakhzoda Kodirova is 15 year-old aspiring poet from Navoi, Uzbekistan. From a young age she was fond of literature age of seven she began to read books and study oriental literature. Her poems and stories have been published many magazines and newspepers, including Uzbekistan and Germany.
Poetry from Debarati Sen
A Metonymy for life! Luminescent sobriquets, nuances and innuendos, Oleander dreams, a morsel of left over words decoding syntax and semantics! Taxonomy of hysteria, transfered epithets, shifted proxemics blurring the gap between space and dimension. Peeping from behind translucent ballads are hurrine rhymes trying to carve a niche within a heartfelt epistle. Noctilucent clouds on summer skies. Splurged with meta communication midst graphic metaphors. Dangling dreams from distant corridors on sordid noons. table fan, Ma's flowing hair, fish bones on aluminium plates, the smell of egg curry in my fingers. Baba's sweaty shirt smelling of his toils. Thamma's broken wooden chair! Spring evenings and an ivory reticence wrapped within an empiricist sheet! A metonymy for life climbing down the spiral staircase of remembrance, wearing a galvanized smile! Debarati Sen Bio: Works in Presidency University Kolkata as a Junior Assistant. Her debut poetry book called 'Blurred Musings' has recently been published. Recipient of the Tagore Award 2022 and the Sylvia Plath Women's Literary Award, Debarati finds emancipation in her poetry! She has also been the winner of the International Poetry Writing competition held by the Elite Book Awards in November 2021. She has also grabbed the third position in the National Poetry Writing Month 2022 contest hosted by the Elite Book Awards. Debarati features in the Council Year Book launched on the occasion of Women's Day 2022 by Literoma in association with the Public Safety and Security Council of Bengal. She has also been declared as an Empalled Author in the International Author's Conclave held by Literoma in December 2021. She is one among the top ten poets of the Women;'s Day poetry contest organised by Delhi Poetry Slam. She has co-authored more than 15 anthologies and is recently compiling her first anthology as a compiler with the Quill House Publishers. Her poems have found shelter in prestigious websites like The Antonym, The Yugen Quest Review, The Kolkata Arts, Lapis Lazuli, The Das Literarisch, to name a few.
Poetry from Andrew MacDonald
Gone if come quick Gone if come quick death-bound not leased life itself shocked in repeating energy forms present in our sinuous room trite flesh repaints too pretended ‘neath up-ends of convulsants groomed each night by way of visitors their breath not yet but his here re- membered to loom and hang over wait releasing its gain of chance not to happen, left intending some next visit a round to please with help a bed soft undressing. Hard-bound out-takes Hard-bound out-takes cherish the score six cards their worth can knock to shame of what gets us pity at the last and grieve, forgive if take, put-back. But side-steps verve, hold what hands flood to up-shot nods of truce down one when got back wired if secret pleads the case that’s tried of cards their yield. Here are some sad ones got nerve Here are some sad ones got nerve and with no rules get smart of, steel a love yet-born-made-fun to sprawl upon new ground a- bove the heart’s intent, surface of dreams their truths tidbits what un-dead reams if rolled out-live mem’ries each pleat back their moves showing in bright dread what we feed of, maggots on broke scenes incumbent mind pangs, taking for sore truths unreasoned and yet hard-proved while we dance-out our naked bests empires hold.
Andrew Cyril Macdonald considers the role of inter-subjectivity in poetic encounter. He celebrates the confrontations between self and Other and the challenges that occur in moments of injustice. He is founding editor of Version (9) Magazine, a poetry journal that implicates all things theoretic. You can find his words in such places as Blaze VOX, Experiential-Experimental-Literature, Fevers of the Mind, Lothlorien, Nauseated Drive, Otoliths, Synchronized Chaos, Strukturriss, Unlikely Stories and more. When not writing he is busy caring for seven rescued cats and teaching a next generation of poets.