Welcome to Poetically Yours. I’m Yvonne Boose. Poetically Yours showcases poems by northern Illinois poets. This week’s poem is by Carol Alfus.
Alfus has lived in McHenry County for most of her life, where she raised her family and taught special education. Now retired, she enjoys traveling, gardening, reading, but most of all spending time with her grandchildren. She has always loved writing, but poetry is her favorite. She loves the way a poem can tell a story, capture a moment, or express a range of emotions from wonder, to anger, to joy, to bliss and beyond.
Alfus takes her inspiration from the sublime The Night Sky, The Beauty of Nature to the ridiculous Parking Lot Gulls, Fortune Cookies as well as the deeply personal The Birth of a Grandchild, The Death of a Loved One. She belongs to a poetry group at her Unitarian Universalist church, and enjoys sharing her poems with family, friends and at various open mic nights around Woodstock.
Alfus has volunteered with programs for people without housing, environmental and conservation organizations and as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). This poem is a reminder that you only live once.
No Regrets
I am not a Westerner. I don’t live on a ranch.
You can count on one hand the number of times I’ve ridden a horse
and you’d still have fingers left over.
And yet for years, I have wanted to own a pair of cowboy boots.
On our travels to Wyoming, Utah and Montana
I would gaze at boots in store windows,
even go inside, pick them up, sniff the leather,
and trace the intricate, colorful stitching with covetous fingers.
“Go on and buy them!” my husband would urge.
But my sensible, Midwestern self would scoff,
“Where would I ever wear cowboy boots?”
and leave the store without a backward glance,
but not without a small stab of regret.
Well nuts to that.
On a recent trip to Colorado,
I finally bought my cowboy boots—
weathered dark caramel beauties with turquoise top stitching.
They make me feel...solid, capable,
and maybe a little bit daring
as I wear them about town
to the grocery store,
the library,
church,
and any place I damn well please!
~Carol Alfus
June 10, 2022
