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cathy mccormick
Member since August 14, 2019
Member for 6 years, 9 months
advocate
member
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174
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SHOE-SHINE BOYS
on market streets in Lagos, barefeet boys call
"Shoe-shine 3 naira"
as men in shoes walk by
boys wearing shorts and shirts
colored rags blown by the breeze
trying to tease the heat away
bata-tan boys move mountains
or pretend to be them
to get cash to buy a kit
hoping to make enough on the street
so they won't have to eat in some trash heap
they were their smiles loudly, if not proudly
the sun makes long days on market streets
shoe-shine boys sit in sweat
Read the rest of the poem Show less
wishing they were wearing
the shoes they hold in small thin hands to shine
when even the sun gets tired and leaves the street
they take their kits and walk to the bridge
under which they sleep, dust from the street
between their toes, covering them and their bare feet
while men walk home to houses wearing shoes
with polished pride.
cathy mccormick’s timeline
- August 2024
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14 WedAnniversary
5 years of membership
- January 2023
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04 WedReceived a critique
on Only Bob Dylan Is Bob Dylan from @Alex Tanner
"Desolation Row, I and I, I could go on forever. Had the pleasure of meeting him as I walked the cliff path near my home when he played the IOW Festival and was staying in a converted barn just a few hundred yards away…" - November 2022
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22 TueReceived a critique
on SHOE-SHINE BOYS from @Lavender
"Hello, Cathy, This poem is wonderfully in motion - I feel as if I'm walking along, watching the action unfold. Most of the senses are used here, which brings the reader directly into the poem. A very observant glance of…" -
21 MonReceived a critique
on SHOE-SHINE BOYS from @Geezer
"You show the disparity between people of a country so poor, that a rich man has shoes, and a poor man doesn't. Boys dreaming of the shoes they polish and sleeping under bridges. Will there ever be a day, when all men ha…" -
21 Mon
- April 2022
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14 Thu
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13 Wed
- August 2020
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14 FriAnniversary
One year of membership
- February 2020
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17 Mon
- August 2019
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19 MonFirst critique offered
on "NAKED TREES (August Contest) " (since unpublished) by @Drey Hommies
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16 FriFirst publication
A Beetle's Death (since unpublished)
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14 WedJoined Neopoet
Membership begins
First poem published 2 days later.
About Me
About me
I live in the country with my husband, two cats and seven skunks under the house (not invited!). I enjoy writing poetry and reading poetry written by my friends.
Location: WA
Recent Work
The Survivor
Posted:
One Bite
Posted:
Marionette
Posted:
No More Elephants
Posted:
Ain't Done Travelin' Yet
Posted:
I Have
Posted:
Contest Wins
This member has not yet won any contests.
Workshops
| Skill level: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhythm and Meter in Poetry | (syllabus) | Plunge Pool | Started 2020-02-10 | Concluded |
| Critique For New And Old | (syllabus) | Plunge Pool | Started 2020-01-16 | Concluded |
| Immersing the Reader Via Imagery Part 2 | (syllabus) | Splash Pool | Started 2019-09-22 | Concluded |
| Immersing the reader via imagery (Let's get started) | (syllabus) | Splash Pool | Started 2019-09-16 | Concluded |