Geoffrey Aitken writes in Adelaide, on unceded Kaurna land, an awarded industrial minimalist poet who communicates his ‘lived experience disability’ for publishers [AUS] and [UK, US, CAN, Fr & CN]. Recent poetry at ‘Sparks of Calliope’, ‘Impspired Mag’ & ‘StepAway Magazine’ [UK], ‘Maya’s Micros’, ‘The Institutionalized Review’ & ‘Panoplyzine Magazine’, [US], and ‘unusual work’ [AUS]. Nominated for the annual Best of the Net anthology in 2022.

A. Test(im)oni¹ 

i eye with caution

the handmade shoes

in your shop window



meticulously crafted

from supple Tuscany leather



to symphony my want

of accessible rich tradition



double-stitched



i see a durable statement

of consistent fashion



designed for a comfort

i can almost feel



fitted and finally mine

you place them into a box



before i take them home



and set me apart from friends.

¹ A. Testoni is the history of the most authentic Italian tradition, starting in 1929 in Bologna, where Amedeo Testoni, the founder, had a small shoemaking workshop. A heritage, made of exclusive craftsmanship and extreme attention to the quality of the leather & constructions, that is still the fundamental value of that multinational.

some knew      

the tailored suit

is certainly

a splendid experience



colour/style/legend/context



cut of cloth



and i needed the best fit

out of a mind set



that had closed doors

leaving a presence



where a vest



was the timely

snug/tight choice



to protect me from

the forces of friction



so it was, 

and had to be, Kevlar.



some sort of invention

                                eh.

not a shoe box in sight    

it would be wrong

to suggest



we bully/race

or overwhelm

our way to the top



using aspiration

that leverages envy



before we top the apex



to become predators

making our way 

on alpha supplements.



similarly it would only be

an assumption

neo-modern rats



are locked in maze like behaviour