Sheltered Finding (Suburban Red Shoes)

By: Gary Pei

(This picture “Spare shoes” is taken independently by William W. Ward, free to use and remix under the Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution Generic License)

Get home safely, Dom Kennedy–
-even if in 63 they shot the dome–
-Of Kennedy St. Peter,
the rooster calls three– 
-times past twelve-disciples.
Wages between Protests and Catholic–
-comfort soul food based–
-on B,R,ed, and butter.

What enclosed space
defines your freedom…
-you try to root yourself based on dreams
-to find your space…
Love I told you: is an invisible dream.
..
..
We all want to see there’s no place-
-like home wearing these red yeezy-
–shoes–
–tap thrice, status outside your–
–materials that missed the wholepoint–
–when you realize…
…home is where the heart is.

My father had a dream–
-to get off that social-security–
–of my grandparents off the-626…
All he could afford-
-was that sunny D…
So his whole life was based–
-on alternatives…
What’d you think? (When you think–
-about it)…
His whole life was destined–
-Of dreams deferred.
A history of locations
from China to Taiwan–
-to San gab and the OC.

And I wonder why I never–
-asked for his whole life story.
..
..
I lived my life in–
-the suburbs; a whole life sheltered.
The only thing that’s–
-real is my misconceptions.
I stayed at my father’s-place-
-I couldn’t find any “ahhh“.
Stories of 2nd generation–
–enclaves I took for granted.

But one day…
I wanna fly out my nest.
To make my own first place.
Built on last straws.
Constructed: step by step.
…Run–
–like that little kid I used to be

skip to the top of the stairs:
tap,            tap,             tap

Somewhere over: (tap)
Childhood excitement: (tap)
Somewhere over: (tap)-
-I’ll be loo-(tap)-king  over that Balcony: (tap)
…and say…

(tap)
“I’m back.”