Following in Footsteps

Following in Footsteps

 

shoeshine boy

polished my dad's

Florsheim’s,

just figuratively,

for a period of time

spit on them with rebellion

tore up the insoles

hid the laces

 

then came to an agreement

with my sense of appreciation

being scared of the feet

inside them,

the body with those feet

the reprimanding growls

coming from the mouth

of the face

of the man who wore them

 

I finally understood the importance 

of those shoes

of that voice

of that time in my life

when I was little

feared the shoes

Then?

I gained my own shine

and lived with that since

 

now in my own shoes

laces non-existent

freedom

I live in my Sketcher's world

and no one tells me

how to slip into them

or how to slip into 

the rest of my days.

 

 

erin-cilberto

2/8/26

Reviews

[redzone]

I read your poem 2 days ago, left a long review about how your poem reminded me of memories with my dad. Unfortunately, that comment was lost and I won't try to reconstruct it now. Just know that your poetry always inspires introspection and other feelings of emotion and memory. You are a wonderful poet Jacob. And human being the world could use more of. Probably due to the influence of polished Florsheims and Sketchers that allowed you to walk your own path. I loved this poem Jacob.

-Curt

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for those very, very kind words, Curt.
j.

[Michael Sun Bear]

I found this interesting, well written and uncomfortable. Perhaps because it reminded me of my own childhood. I would never have dared to sabotage my father’s shoes. He had a hair-trigger explosive trigger; I feared the man. I have never missed him.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

it is so sad to have to fear those closest to us.
Thank you for sharing, Michael.
j.

[Vol]

Jacob,
My father was one of those men whose charisma owned whatever space he entered. A Marine who had seen battle, taken human life, and sired me, also endowed me with a fear of discipline disguised as punishment. I think there is a narrow path of what is acceptable for teaching right from wrong, an one side, explanation and discussion, on the other spanking. and my father was able to navigate between the two. He would outline acceptable behavior and rules, so if I disobeyed, it was MY decisions that incurred his attention, and I learned the meaning of "if, then" as I earned a generous number of spankings. "Go to your room," so I spent the nest ten minutes sweating bullets while he made sure it was my mistake, and not his impatience. I remember only one in any detail, and it was the one time he did not stop to think it through. Thanks for waking up that corner of my heart...
Vol

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for sharing this, Vol. Was so different for us as kids as it is now.
j.

[Vol]

True! We actually lived our real lives, unlike the today's basement, virtual adventurers. Sounds like the first step into a future inhabited by H.G. Wells' Morlocks.
Vol

[Chris Shaw]

I can remember my Dad being scary on occasions when I was little, but by God did I appreciate him when I was grown. He has been gone 35 years and never a day goes by without me thinking about him. I know you feel the same about your Dad j. We miss our Dads don’t we? A lovely poem of reflection.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your kind review, Chris.
j.

[LisaCarol]

What a wonderful tribute and remembrance of father and son. Enjoy the Sketchers!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you, LisaCarol for your words.
j.

[Desert Knave]

It was cowboy boots that I saw growing up, but, much the same, really never got the person in them till I was an old man myself. ~Jim

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your words, Jim.
j.

[Soren]

In our youth we have to fit into a world of authority and some of us never grow up while those that do find that we no longer fit in such a place. Nicely written100

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Part of me is still there, part of me has moved on. Thank you, Soren.

[Soren]

You are most welcome my friend

[John the Baptist]

Is the shoeshine boy real, or is the speaker referring to himself? It would seem there was a fear of the father in the growing up years, until the boy "gained my own shine" and lived with that forever after. It is the ancient story of passage, of leaving our childhood years behind. The last verse tells us the change was successful. Not everyone can say that.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Looking back, part of me appreciates there was discipline...but I wonder still about the fear factor.
j.

[Einstein Noodle]

thank goodness for Sketchers eh, Jaocob!? ... i love my red slip ons ... nice resolution in your closing verse says i. throughout the first of it I was led to recall boot camp and spit polishing those shoes knowing the perfection would never come .. just not made to be a shoe shine boy ;) love on ya brother!
E.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I appreciate your sharing the Sketchers story....they are comfortable....life in retirement is pretty comfortable not having to answer to anyone but myself.
j.