Sunday, November 8, 2020

Forgotten Thoughts of the Lost Socks


we hide until the

seeking collapses 

like the fading 

wave of a whistle 

losing steam, no finders

no keepers, no search parties

or weepers, no lamppost

posters, we are through


we are not thunder-prodded dogs 

or heirloom jewels, just thrown 

webs of bare threads


the world out there losing 

proteins and hair, working on


without us, we got chloroplasts

rubbed in, stitches giving up 

and letting go, and so many holes


escape hatches for toes 

rambling woods, thorn

snagged and foot rubbed raw


well heeled, woolen tube 

and cotton wall exposed 

to mud spit puddle 


adventurous that one time in

catshit bubblegum sandbox


and yet, we don’t 

just disappear, we bug out

nesting in dryer sheets and lint


housing lifetimes of spiders, moths 

and mice, we contemplate whatever

became of our inseparable mates


9 comments:

  1. Ah, the ultimate mystery! (I always suspected they did it on purpose.)

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  2. You are lucky; losing a pair of socks is better than just one! You keep that lone sock thinking its brother will turn up but it never does.

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  3. Does anyone remember the darning egg of long ago used for darning holes in socks. Oh my ! Times have changed.

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    1. I do, Bev! I still have my Mum's and my Nana's, both of which I inherited, stashed away, but it's a good few years since I used them.

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    2. I've heard of them, but never say one. Even my mother and grandmother didn't darn socks. My grandmother refused, said she's just buy new socks instead!

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  4. oh yes, they walk out while we are sleeping. :)
    loved your poem!

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  5. I love it! I, like Old Egg, have several socks that have been awaiting their mates for too long! But, you know socks, as soon as you throw one out the other appears. I had a comic years ago where explorers crested a hill and below them, "We found it! We found it! The Valley of Lost Socks!"

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  6. The lost socks!! Mine are under the agitator in our washing machine ... I just know they are. Cheers.

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  7. I think a lot of them really do get caught in washing machines. Maybe they plan it!

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