With Love, Your Shoes

Why are you sitting there?

Hunched over the curb,

Head sunk between your knees.

What could possibly get you down?

Talk to me.

I’ve been here with you every step of the way.

Carrying sixty-five times my weight,

Scraping on every rock, sucking against every

Glob of mud that tries to pull me back.

My triple-stitched fibers stretched to the very limit,

I’ve long since passed my 300-mile lifespan,

But still I hold my shape.

Dirt might get stuck between my treads,

And my laces might get tangled, but I press on.

It’s all for your support.

Get up, now.  Nothing can tear you up

Or suck you down.  You might be in a tangle

But don’t you let it trip you.

Don’t you let them see your wear.

It’s going to get dirty along the way, but

We will go the distance.