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the sperry top-sider
is the show of
white supremacy.
particularly the
genuine handcrafted
chocolate moccasin
with turmeric coloured
rawhide laces,
luxurious materials and finishes
and rich lambskin linings.
with elevated craftsmanship
and premium materials
this was the footwear
of assimilation,
at least in nineteen eighty six
at division middle school
in marin county, california.

the sperry top-sider was
the shoe of
the cool kid.
the rich kid.
the accepted kid.
the white kid.
glenwood
peacock gap
country club
yatch clubs
and golf clubs
sailing clubs
and tennis clubs.

the sperry top-sider
was what you wore
to sit with the right group
at lunch with the expensive
sparkling juice:
passion fruit kola
not capri sun,
kudos bars and sushi
not whatever leftovers
the foreign kid,
they sometimes called
the sand nigger,
brought to school
in tupperware
that looked like diarrhoea
but was actually stew
made from walnuts and
pomamgrante syrup.
the kids who wore
the sperry top-sider
never brought rice to school.

the sperry top-sider was
the shoe of kids
with inheritances
and accumulated wealth,
parents who owned homes
and investment portfolios,
they saved in retirement accounts,
and took trips to tahoe,
they ate dinners at scoma’s
in sausalito and owned two cars.

the sperry top-sider
is the show of
white supremacy.
and in seventh grade
there was nothing
i wouldn’t do to get a pair.