Like a Pebble in my Shoe
Was it stuck there with supernatural glue?
Sometimes she walked with a limp
Sometimes she simply hopped
There were days, weeks, years,
She was kind of embarrassed
And it all felt too much, she needed to hide
So she stayed home alone, like a shy deer
Wounded, gone to ground
The Covid lockdown was like a liberation
Because suddenly everyone else was in the same position
Sometimes she went out in the dark,
No makeup, nails uncut, her hair a mess
In the woods, where no-one could see her,
(Did I mention she was dangerously fearless)
She’d do a flip and walk on her hands
A small knife concealed in her pants
And did you know in aikido, she could do knee walking?
Often she became amphibian,
She just left land, crawled across broken glass, pebbles, sand,
And in the glory of feeling weightless,
Swam
On land there was something perpetually
Perplexing her,
Like a pebble in her shoe
Was it stuck with a supernatural glue?
It had been there for as long
As she could remember
Like the sorceror’s apprentice
It magically multiplied
And when removed, reappeared
It was the source of a constant pain
Sometimes she felt like a female Jesus
She was nailed to a cross
Except hers was invisible
No-one else could see the ghost pebble
Not even the surgeon she paid
To make it go away
She also said prayers, begged priests
Then almost with her last breath,
She at last made her peace
The mysterious pebble,
Like the DNA of her scapegoating family
Was there to
Stay.
3
About the Creator
Aza Y Alam
Exploring how the political is personal and making sense of life, as an artistic teacher, a justice-seeking researcher, and a writer, one story, essay and poem at a time... Join me on the journey!
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