Tom the Cobbler

At first the odor

accosts us

It's a small mess

on the inside

of his shop

and in that instant

its reputation is sealed

in the affirmative

Tom can't retire

because he's too busy

fixing shoes

selling shoes

selling everything

needed for shoes

little colored jars

of this or that wax

cans of this or that spray

hundreds of shoes strings

of every variety

This isn't a mall

where neatness counts

Here the only attraction

is Tom himself

with his spectacular

white hair and mustache

What he does

for a new customer

he's never met

someone with a simple fix

he starts on it right away

while the world enters

through the same door

to pick up a purse

that needed a new zipper

a better one

Someone ogles

colored shoes

An old man with a walker

sits near the entrance

unable to get further in

But how does Tom repair shoes

and care for customers

at the same time

The smell is a clue

elves

there's no mistaking it

the elves of the old shoemaker

have taken up residence

to help Tom

in Iowa City

Elves it is said

smell of gingerbread

perhaps

but careful discernment

inside the nose

picks up notes

of fruitcake

and rum babas

An elf on rum babas

is pitiful

Ask it to resole a shoe

and you're likely

to get a billfold back

Fruitcake munching elves

are mean

sometimes vicious

Tom can't let them

greet customers

They refused to read

anything

by Dale Carnegie

If elves eat gingerbread

they will slobber

all over you expressing

love of mankind

Eyes roll every time

Tom is patient and wise

always watching elves

for the potential

of such a mistake

It's why he's so friendly

with his customers

That way the elves

don't help

in the front

And nobody likes

an elf who paws

and slobbers

Barry G. Wick