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NEW SHOES (Episode 98)

NEW SHOES

 

Listening Link 

This morning the air smells cleansed and grassy.

 

Alt text says this week’s photo is pairs of shoes on the floor. I say it is a set of insoles that have gone in the bin beside a pair of new ones that have been inserted into my old walking shoes.

 

Late August was always the time for new shoes for me. Part of the ritual of marking the approach of a new school year was the selecting and purchasing of a pair of shiny black shoes. This year I bought new walking shoes instead, and I bought them early. I also bought new insoles for my old walking shoes in case there wasn’t time to break in the new ones before climbing Snowdon. My old walking shoes have had lovely adventures in Guernsey as well as being part of my local walks, and based on how long I have had them I predicted that buying a new pair would be the last time I would need to make such a purchase. I felt a little bit sad until I realised just how far the new ones have walked in their first month. My older ones had only lasted so long and stood the test of time so well because they weren't used so much in the past. They have a few more miles in them yet and are certainly improved by having their new inserts, and it will be interesting to see where the new ones take me.

 

The most recent Mary Chapin Carpenter album ‘Personal History’ has been the soundtrack to every solo walk I have taken since it was released at the start of June, and I laugh each time ‘Bitter Ender’ comes on because I think I might be a bitter ender when it comes to shoes. As well as clocking up the miles in designated walking shoes I walked the heel area completely off a pair of slip-on shoes in the past year or so. I think the ease of putting those shoes on tempted me to wear them far more than they were suited for. Pleasingly my Hurry Up driver doesn’t appear these days when I am putting shoes on so tying laces does not make me feel like sighing or lead me to wearing the wrong kind of footwear. A quick check of the apps on my phone says that’s over 7000 minutes of the beautiful singing of Mary Chapin Carpenter, and I still love listening to it.

 

I read this week that in September they will be closing the road where I take my country walk. Because it will be shut for twelve weeks this feels like the end of an era for that particular routine. It will also mark the summiting of Snowdon so even though I won’t be ditching my soundtrack I reckon I will be enjoying finding a new route for strolling out.

 

I am going to make the following poem my poem of the month for September on my YouTube channel – it was recorded for Poetry Archive Now WordView 2025, and entries for videos close on 31st August. I always enjoy listening to all the poetry videos submitted for this feature and seeing which ones would be in my top ten.

 

 

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ACHIEVE?

 

A gold medal pings into my mind as the question lands between us in the silence. But I can’t say gold medal because I don’t know exactly what I want it for. My mind pictures me standing there at the award ceremony, bowing my head forward a little in readiness for the presentation. The ribbon brushes my hair, and I feel the warmth of the fingers of the woman transferring the medal as her hands knock against my ears. My head is cumbersome. People with cumbersome heads shouldn’t be getting medals. The applause suddenly feels false, and I didn’t even hear the start of it. I need to hear the beginning of the congratulatory clap. I need to be in the moment. I change my wish. I want a gold medal that fits easily over my head. No, I know what I want... I want a head that fits through the gap in a medal ribbon without causing a kerfuffle for the person handling the ceremony. I want it all to look flawless so everyone remembers me standing on that podium being given a medal. Given, that’s an interesting word. Medals are won not given. Not in a tombola, one in a hundred chance kind of way. You earn a medal by setting a goal and working on it. Over and over again until you are the best you can be. There’s that question again, What would you like to achieve?

 



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