Sunday, June 1, 2008

MISINFORMED (IF THE SHOE FITS)

                                               
I guess you thought
That after we were done
My world would fall apart
Crumple to little pieces
Like, like...
You know like
When an earthquake hits
And the ground breaks
And buildings, they separate
Then come tumbling down?
Yeah, like that...

But somebody dun told you wrong...

See, I just wanna
Set the record straight
So you can tell the story
The way it’s supposed to be told
Not with your own twists ‘n’ turns
Embellishments and enhancements
Tryna puff yourself up
And deflate me in the process

The real story goes like this:
I knew I was in too deep
Real early on and was gon' hafta
Back that thang up...
And out the door...
Right around the time
You started treating me like
Some old hand-me-down trinket
Or better yet
Like that old, dusty pair of shoes—
You know—the ones waaaayy
In the back of your closet—
The ones you only
Pay attention to every blue moon
‘Cause you got fifty-'leven
Other pairs of shoes that are
So much more important...
Yeah, like that...

And I guess you thought
Just because I loved you
And I really did want us to work
That I was gonna let you keep
Shoving me in the back of the closet
Allowing dust to collect on all my good love
While day after day
You chose other shoes over me

But somebody dun told you wrong...

‘Cause while you traipsed around town
With your feet in all those other shoes
That didn’t even fit you right
That gave me time to breathe—
To air out, so to speak—
You know, like neglected shoes
Have time to do when
They’ve been cast aside—
And I started makin’ plans to
E’hem...git ta steppin’...
To another closet...
Where I would no longer be
The old, forgotten and mistreated shoes
But instead I’d be ... 
The all-purpose shoes
You know the all-purpose shoes—
The ones you love so much that
No matter how many other pairs you have
You just can’t seem
To keep your feet out of ‘em…
Yeah, like that...

And I guess you mighta
Got beside yourself...
Started thinkin’ you were cute
And thought that no other feet
Could replace yours

But somebody dun told you wrong...

‘Cause what had happened was:
One day while you were out
Wearing down the soles
On one of those other
Unfortunate pairs of shoes
I got up, blew the cobwebs off me
Laced myself up nice ‘n’ tight
And eeeeased on down
The Yellow Brick Road
And what I found
When I got to the end
Was more love, respect
Admiration, honesty
And special treatment
Than I ever knew existed—
And you know what
The best part was?
There were no other
Shoes there but me

So I know once you realized
I was long gone
And what you had lost
You kicked yourself real hard
And then, not understanding
That whole concept of appreciating
And nurturing 
The exceptional relationship you have
'Cause you rarely find true love
More than once in a lifetime
You thought you could just
Run out right quick
And find all that you had in me
At the drop of a hat

But somebody dun told you wrong...

‘Cause when you got out there
In that vast sea of shoes…OOPS!
Surprise, surprise…
You couldn’t find the right size
There were none out there
That fit you as perfectly as I did
And there you stood...
Barefoot and outta luck...
While I was off
With my new boo
Gettin' shined and polished and buffed
On a regular basis...
And lovin’ every step
Those new feet and I took together...
Yeah, like that…

I know you thought that in time
You’d be okay without me
‘Cause you had all those other shoes
Lined up waiting to be the new me
But guess what?

Somebody dun told you wrong…
You’ve been misinformed

Copyright 2008
Charlene E. Green
From Me to You ... Through Mine Eyes: Visual Expressions
Purchase book here