White canvas shoes

Today, as I was walking past one part of our office that is being renovated, I suddenly got a whiff of this real strong smell. Immediately, I realized that I knew this smell - knew it well. And then it came to me - it was the smell of the white shoe polish that we used on our canvas shoes for school when I was younger. It's a very distinct and strong smell. What was amazing was the line of images it brought to my mind. Lazy and still Sunday afternoons when we ( my brother and I) would polish our shoes, the sports uniform that went with those shoes and how some kids would frantically rub chalk on their shoes in a last-ditch attempt to make their shoes look white enough for the occasional inspection at the assembly. The image that really stayed was that of the pair of shoes leaning against a wall in the verandah where they would dry. I know - all this poetry around a smell that apparently is very close to the smell of white out. Nostalgia is a very powerful force.

And finally, after quite a few days, I've found the poem that I'd wanted to post here a while ago. Here it is :

Call

The day is old and I am weary
as I pick up the phone to give you a call.
Strong as the sunshine of your morning
your warm voice makes our distance small.

The language of my first words
rolls easily off my accented tongue
as I immerse myself
in the cares of my native land.

The last few days now gone
rush past me again
as I recount my tales
mundane and fun.

The wisdom of your years
might disagree with my freedom
But there is no escaping
the love that it springs from.

You don't fight my dragons
you don't work my hours
but you give me a perspective
on my success and failures.

You remind me
of a simpler life
and a smaller world
and days that ended at 8 o' clock.