[This message has been edited by RSWells (11-20-2002 03:30 PM).]

This can be taken two ways, can't it?  You could be personifying your boots, or you could be using a personified concept of boots as a metaphor for something else... my intro English class recently had the same argument over Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud," and the effect of daffodils... and this poem reminds me of the very same interprative problem we encountered there.     I'm not going to try and solve that mystery just yet, I think I'll just respond to your structural choice, which I found equally notable.

First of all, you use some strong description here, Wells.  I enjoyed the consistency of the imagery, your description of your boots as hard-bodied and heroic.  

quote:

---

            Their eyelets full
            of leather's rawest hide
            both pliable
            and coarse,
            mendicants whose
            faith can't be denied
            their crossings
            re-inforced.

---

That kind of thing.  "Rawest hide" and "crossings re-inforced" both exemplify the aspect of strength you attribute to the boots, and "mendicants whose faith can't be denied" brings images of honour and courage to mind.  

I'm also really taken by your rhyme scheme, a kind of spaced-out elegaiac scheme that kept the rhyming sound of a simple interlocking rhyme, without having it quite as apparent to the eyes.  I do appreciate your choice of line break usage...

One thing I owe it to you to admit, though, is that the word "leadeth" seemed to come out of nowhere, and was the first (and only) verb in the poem to be done in archaic english style.  I understand you want to keep this poem (appropriately) in step with its iambic feet... but do you think you'd be better served to rephrase the line rather than simply introduce an entirely new form of verb?

I also happen to be a fan of the older english language though... it's got a great sound to it, and it can be nice to use in poetry.  I recently found a website that has a great little blurb on archaic english, as well as anything else you can't count on dictionary.com to provide... here's a link to the part on archaic english, in case you're interested:
http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?lastnode_id=124&node_id=1273947

It's surprisingly insightful for a website that focuses on humour.  I remember being thrilled to find this... I myself know how to read archaic english, but am still learning how to write in it...

JUST one more thing I want to say about this poem in terms of critique:  While I see how "there is no turning back" fits into the poem, you might not want to make it your ending note.  Personally, it left me feeling a bit dissatisfied, which is unfair to the vibrant creativity in the rest of the poem.  Cliches can sometimes seem like a hole in a poem, depending how they're used.  "Tongues tied," for example, is a commonly used phrase and you used it in an unusual way, with the merit of a simple pun.  That's a good example of effective cliche use.  

This is all just criticism though, of course... with all the best intention.  Your critique message is a might friendlier, I noticed.  

I did greatly enjoy this poem.  Keep up the excellent work, Wells.  

Parasite

Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.
~Aldous Huxley

"I am a sky where spirits live.
Stare into this deepening blue,
while the breeze says a secret."
Jelaluddin Rumi