“Your dangerous shoe.” A Poem by Lila Matsumoto
The poem reflects on a personal experience involving a broken shoe and a kind flatmate. The flatmate shares memories of his childhood pet falcon, connecting the speaker to Serbian culture. The poem also recalls a Serbian poet's unique drinking style and his poignant poetry.
- ▪The speaker's shoe was taped up by a flatmate, making it difficult to wear.
- ▪The flatmate shared stories about his childhood pet falcon from Serbia.
- ▪The speaker recalls a Serbian poet who had a distinctive way of drinking water and recited short poems.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
When I woke up I discovered that Dorothy’s flatmate had taped up my broken shoe so tightly with electrical tape that I couldn’t get my foot in it to go to work. The flatmate had been very kind. He showed me pictures of a pet falcon he had when he was a boy. He was from Serbia. The only other Serbian person I’d heard a memory from was a famous poet who read his work at an event at the university. In between the poems he told us stories about his childhood and drank out of his water bottle. I had never seen anyone drink water like him: instead of sips, he put the entire opening of the bottle fully in his mouth and took a shot. Then he resumed with his short dark poems about angels and bandages. __________________________________ Talk a Blue Streak is available from Monitor Books.
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Literary Hub.
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