Some have to work hard at it,
Others hardly at all, so
Before he steps back
And takes one last hard look
At what he’s left behind,
This ragamuffin of a boot-
Black buffing the shine of the gentleman
Has to spit on his shoes and snap
The rag like his life depends on it
One more time.
The line break at
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cracks the whip
wielded by the gentleman
(one last hard look every time)
I love the permutations of "hard"! How is it that hard as an adverb is positive, but hardly (the "proper" adverbial form) is negative? And how can hard as an adjective applied to a look suggest not labor but insight? I've taken a shine to this poem....
ReplyDeleteThanks, you two; you may not know it but the Squint-eyed Kid thought he was one cool shoeshine boy back in his adolescence. Used to listen to Elvis, Fats, Litte Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis et al on his portable Motorola 45 rpm record player during slack hours at his dad's establishment. Truth is, being myopic he had to get down real low and take a real close look at The Man's shoes.
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