I stand at the point of no return.
Without realizing or noticing it
I have outgrown and outworn my beloved shoes
that have carried me for years
across continents
Although I have bled and blistered,
scarred and calloused,
these shoes have kept my feet safe from harm
and now
What do I do?
Do I find new pairs of shoes?
Do I step into the unknown with bare feet?
The only certainty: that those shoes
can never carry me safely again,
that nothing will ever be the same again,
that it could be better, it could be worse
but most of all, that I do not have a choice
I can choose my shoes
but I cannot choose my feet
What sense is there to keep walking
in shoes outworn and outgrown?
At what point do my beloved shoes
begin to break my feet?
© 2024 Marieke de Koker
Photo: Bronx, New York © 2024 Reever Julian
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