Memorial
Growing up in an urban neighborhood in the 80's and 90's meant you often saw shoes that hung off of telephone lines - sometimes one pair of shoes, sometimes a few. The just hung there, they swung in the breeze, got drenched in the rain, and slowly they became weathered by time. Often times one wouldn't notice when a pair came down, or when a new pair was added to the line - they just dangled, hovering over the traffic and everyday lives below.
I was told once that the shoes were there as memorials for those who had worn them, so the neighborhood wouldn't forget.
Slowly they went disappearing, as time went on. Cut down and tossed somewhere. They are the faded stamp of neighborhood culture, trying not to fade completely as the rest of the neighborhood shape-shifts below.
Here is my ode to the memorials I knew, they symbolize loyalty to those that have gone for all to see - till they, themselves are gone.
