To The Patron Saint of Footwear

To the patron saint of footwear

I defy you to your face

Behold the sweat-dappled socks

gone tipsy from unventilated feet.

The amber blisters on my heel 

the ruby creases above my toes. 

The pocket money seized without my intention 

for you ignoble invention

You claim your wares protect

from germs and growths

pretend they are not ideal incubators

laboratories of fungal procreation

You fight my arguments with legislation

dash to hang signs on grocery store doors

You tell scare stories of African parasites

to make me distrust the rain-blasted sidewalks of my neighborhood

You make every rusted nail out to be a viper

biting every unclad foot and respecting the path of every flipflop

You highlight every iota

that indicates your virtue

and white-out the myriads

that expose your vice

To constriction

raw flesh

indentation

I say "depart."

Reviews

[Pete]

This got me thinking about that old quote that, "Shoes make the man/woman". Perhaps the world would be a better place if we were all shoeless. It would be a lot harder to start wars and do another nasty stuff. Thanks for sharing this.

[RedHairedWarrior]

Hmm... that is an interesting concept... and if shoes make the man/woman, does that mean that without shoes, they are more vulnerable and less able to put up a facade? Each person will be seen as they actually are?

[Pete]

yup. could even take it all the way - what if we were all shoeless & clothesless? What would the world be like then?

[jacob erin-cilberto]

freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom to be shoeless....aren't all those in the constitution?

should be...a very colorful, humor filled piece....but i feel there is a little more behind it than just shoes...

which by the way i made in a shoe factory for a year..Brown Shoe Company's Naturalizers...and i can just imagine how uncomfortable those were to wear.

j.

[RedHairedWarrior]

Ack, shoe factory. That sounds devastating. :) Thanks