Green converse sneakers.
A wry deliberate choice when worn
with a green lamé and black lace dress
strapless for the start of summer 1987
fancy and scandalous
perfect for an ex-boyfriend’s prom
where I knew no one else
the breakup days before, the date kept anyway
to not waste this va-voom costume with
mint green high top sneakers lending balance.
The look and the shoes
both the converse
of what I was inside:
flouncy exterior, stripped-down interior
party girl dancing, philosopher watching
waiting for the night and its stale obligation to end
so the in-between feeling
of being 18 in that world
could figure itself out
in the dawn of 19.
4/21/2022
Stacey Murphy
Stacey Murphy __ Poems 