@Mark Crutchfield i love how personification is layered, throughout the poem.
So the shoes learn, the shoes of someone, learning.. the meeting living? Like how awesome this is!
And the decision is made by the tie.
Sorry i am repeating poorly what is said here, I'm just trying to feel it. To see it, and i literally see the shoes going to school, just graduate and enter the place where the meeting live.
From the layering I'm almost buried in the visceral details. Stuck in the various scenes of this movie.
The corridor reads like passage, but only because the mind insists something must be getting somewhere.
Shoes learn direction, chairs face each other, decisions line up like events in sequence but none of it actually moves. It only appears as movement once stillness is interpreted as time.
From an Advaita lens, nothing is traversing anything. There is no “between,” only the habit of dividing what is already whole into steps, rooms, and arrivals that never quite arrive.
The corridor, then, is not transition. It is the mind’s way of describing undivided presence as if it were travel.
It feels less like something I “caught” and more like something the poem was already quietly revealing.
The corridor doesn’t move, it only appears to, when the mind starts measuring stillness in steps. What your poem does so well is let that measurement fall apart without announcing its own undoing.
I’m grateful it stays that open, without needing to arrive anywhere.
A moment caught, frozen - lingering on what was or what's still to come. Even the shoelaces seem unsure. The air, heavy, still - no help at all. You set a scene in just a few lines, Mark. Bravo!
This is a beautifully atmospheric piece full of tension and subtle movement. I love how the imagery of shoes, corridors, and flickering neon captures the rhythm of an office caught between decisions, simply splendid !!!
Thanks for Sharing @Tammy B !
@Mark Crutchfield i love how personification is layered, throughout the poem.
So the shoes learn, the shoes of someone, learning.. the meeting living? Like how awesome this is!
And the decision is made by the tie.
Sorry i am repeating poorly what is said here, I'm just trying to feel it. To see it, and i literally see the shoes going to school, just graduate and enter the place where the meeting live.
From the layering I'm almost buried in the visceral details. Stuck in the various scenes of this movie.
Perfection in its finest!
Thank you so much @The stranger!
Everything has a story to tell and some history in it, even if we think they are just inanimate objects.
Such a lovely reading!
Thanks!
The corridor reads like passage, but only because the mind insists something must be getting somewhere.
Shoes learn direction, chairs face each other, decisions line up like events in sequence but none of it actually moves. It only appears as movement once stillness is interpreted as time.
From an Advaita lens, nothing is traversing anything. There is no “between,” only the habit of dividing what is already whole into steps, rooms, and arrivals that never quite arrive.
The corridor, then, is not transition. It is the mind’s way of describing undivided presence as if it were travel.
Dipti, you’ve caught on to a few parts there so well, with the idea of stillness as time, and decisions as events, but not really outcomes.
Such a great and close reading.
Thank you.
It feels less like something I “caught” and more like something the poem was already quietly revealing.
The corridor doesn’t move, it only appears to, when the mind starts measuring stillness in steps. What your poem does so well is let that measurement fall apart without announcing its own undoing.
I’m grateful it stays that open, without needing to arrive anywhere.
Ah, yes, corridors are very much alive.
In some cultures, we honor the ground by removing our shoes before stepping on it.
Thank you for reminding me 🤗🌷
Thank you Nimila!
I hadn’t thought of that whilst writing, and that’s a great observation for crossing over the threshold.
Thank you for sharing that with me!💛
So well penned! Very atmospheric.
Thank you Jo!
A moment caught, frozen - lingering on what was or what's still to come. Even the shoelaces seem unsure. The air, heavy, still - no help at all. You set a scene in just a few lines, Mark. Bravo!
Thank you MoTy!
The curse of endless meetings and office days where even our shoes give up and the corridors know more than we do!
Silent witness.
true!
I wish I had this poem in my pocket during the thirty years I spent in those hallways and rooms. Nicely done.
Hahah! Thanks Christopher!
Too many, way too many meetings!
This reminds me of the Florsheim Oxford dress shoes. Trump is forcing his cabinet to wear and the emptiness of their words when around the table.
Haha - I didn’t even know that. They should at least be brogues!
Love this
Thank you Hina!
Love how the unspoken continues to echo, carrying as much or more weight than what actually was. <3
Thank you Petra! It does happen.
Bit like the keys left behind weighing more after he shut the door.
Thank you xD
This is a beautifully atmospheric piece full of tension and subtle movement. I love how the imagery of shoes, corridors, and flickering neon captures the rhythm of an office caught between decisions, simply splendid !!!
awwww Thank you Aaliya! 🤗 💛 🤗
I NEVER WANTED TO … 👀 YOU