Even Prompter

Wellies

Wellies

England being the land of rain,
it’s wellies keep us sane.
Our soil’s so often merely mud,
we’ve wellies in our blood.

As children our first pair of them
is like the rarest gem,
red, yellow, or blue as the sea,
all colours they can be.

But adults’ status is defined
by welly shade assigned.
Olive’s for those of upper rack,
the working class wear black.

Ah, that fine, new welly perfume,
rubber smell fills the room,
though I’ll admit that later on
the stink is not so bon.

Yes, rubber may keep out the wet,
it also keeps in sweat;
a well used welly and its sock
upon your heels will rock.

Adventure you can get no more
than welly-shod outdoors.
It’s what they’re made for, after all,
when wilderness it calls.

Once, in a winter snowfall deep,
the house with piles so heaped,
the shopping trip we must forego,
the roads all blocked with snow.

When food supplies were getting low
to shop we had to go,
a weary trudge through cold and drift
and wellies were a gift.

The food was bought and home regained,
while nobody complained.
The reason we achieved the task
was wellies, first and last.


Line count: 36
Rhymed aabb
For Promptly Poetry, Week 35 2022
Prompt: Think about your favorite pair of shoes. Now write a poem about an adventure you've had in those shoes.
Note: Wellies are the British name for what the Americans call rain boots. Originally called wellingtons in honour of their designer, the Duke of Wellington, the shortened form has become familiar to all and it is rare to hear the original term. They are much loved for their simplicity and practicality.