Welcome to Poetically Yours. Poetically Yours showcases poems by northern Illinois poets. This week’s featured poet is Terry Loncaric.
Loncaric lives in Hampshire, Illinois. She said she has three lives. A poet, a journalist, and an educator, and these lives collide through her poetry. Loncaric wrote two poetry books, “Crashing in Velvet” for Finishing Line Press, and most recently, “Poetry in an Age of Panic” for Kelsay Books. She also hosts a monthly open-mic of original songs and poetry at Stage Left Cafe in Woodstock. Here’s her poem “How I Loved My Earth Shoes.”
Odd-shaped,
not very feminine,
but the moment
I slid my feet
into those
puppies,
my feet grew
wings.
If a pair of clogs
had met some
lonely loafers,
this would be
their love child --
my college
Earth Shoes,
free, hip,
oddly comforting,
like a surprise
date, perhaps
a little dorky,
but oh-so-sweet
when they kissed
your feet.
In the lift
of these heavenly
arches, I felt like
I could fly, glide,
stride.
Is it possible
I grew an inch
of confidence
in my spiffy '70s
Earth Shoes?
I remember
all of the places
we roamed:
the foreign film house,
where I saw
my first bawdy
Fellini flick,
the coffee joint,
where I enjoyed
intense talks.
Before I plunged
full throttle into
the minutiae of life,
I had miles to travel,
a satchel of dreams,
and my faithful
Earth Shoes
to give me flight.
How I miss them!
- Yvonne Boose is a current corps member for Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project. It's a national service program that places talented journalists in local newsrooms like WNIJ. You can learn more about Report for America at wnij.org.
