An exaggerated style, the zoot suit
was a statement in clothes.
Yet it fell into ill repute,
history shows.
Outlandishly flamboyant and distinct:
comedy was its roots.
Clothes came from the Harlem precinct:
called culture suits.
With their wide lapels and baggy trousers:
they were ostentatious.
And favored by rabble-rousers;
loose and spacious.
Worn by African-American youth
and poor Mexican teens.
They looked rebellious and uncouth;
much more than jeans.
Oft accessorized with a gold key chain:
and a fedora hat.
Frisco sailors showed their disdain;
armed with a bat.
More about color than flashy fashion:
racial riots broke out.
All those beat without compassion:
left little doubt.
Old guys
don’t look cool in jeans
with frayed fabric
and faded seams
So I’ve developed
my own unique style
with colourful clothing
accessorized with a smile
For this old guy
a stylish cap is my choice
I have a twinkle in my eye
and a kind gentle voice
It’s true I don’t wear
a younger man’s clothes
It would make me look silly
and I’m not one to pose
So no fashion from Paris
Italy or France
But if you play me some music
I’ll ask you to dance
So even though Old Guys
don’t look cool in jeans
We’re cool in our own way
still living our dreams
Wrinkles and twinkles
A smile and a wink
Colourful clothes with a cap
happy to join you for a drink.
Some people wear smiles out in public
as if those smiles were sewn on their faces.
Often they are adorned by costly apparel.
The women, in flattering makeup and
with hair beautifully coiffured,
flaunt gowns created by renowned fashion designers
and accessorized with glittering jewelry
and expensive heels and handbags.
They are the rich, the “beautiful people,”
social butterflies in a rainbow of colors
seen attending their special clubs and functions
or charity benefits,
where they flit about with others of their elite class.
I have seen them on television
and representations of them in movies.
I suppose viewing them impersonally this way
is the closest I will ever get to them
as I sit watching them from my well-worn sofa,
knowing that nobody can have a life
so seemingly perfect
yet marveling
at their rainbow colored camouflage.
For the Rainbow Colored Camouflage Contest of Ir0nic ZiNk
"One of the Boys"
One of those tote carrying
cardholdin' members
Levi jeans wearing
tobacco can imprinted
baseball cap with the
accessorized fishhook in it
An ol' southern boy
who likes his toys,
his Jim Bean and Roy
argues over Ford or
Chevrolet.
Pick-up truck lifted
windows non tinted
Shoots his guns
proper like,
and tilts his hat when
he tells a lady goodnight
You might think I was talkin
about a full blooded red neck
but that'd be your own
misconception
Color was never mentioned
just the ends and outs of
a southern description
See sometimes city boys
read a little Mark Twain
and watch a little Andy Griffith too
So don't put color where it don't belong
this here write is just proof,
we need more than eyes to see
the wonder of our humanity.
Now pass some of that whisky
and describe your definition
of black to me.
Bet it can't be described
by just one color.
You fall behind the maple so umber
Soon to close and slumber
Broadcasted light mesmerized
Like a painted picture accessorized
Shine your twilight still
This earthly chamber you fill
Your task is done for today
Tomorrow you shall begin another day
So timeless and taken for granted
The way you radiate it’s so enchanted
I fear without you our existence would be bleak
Upon a wondrous sunset streak
Red-orange kiss across a sky
to reminisce, and sigh
Lightly dusted with a violet trim
Slightly caressed pink brim
Distant parting birds vanish in the winds
gently pushed into natures crosswinds
Pastel painted from the heavens above
Sheer wonderment to the eye on a powdered blue sky
Our human chronicles measured by the gnomon
By our sides since the history of this phenomenon
Reflected, deflected and shimmering with balance
the sunlight behind the valance
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