Requiem For One Shoe

(The End of Sharing)

You see them on roads

paths

even freeways

alone

staring blankly ahead

with a dazed sort of 

'what do I do now?' look

and we try not to stare 

because if we do

we are instantly filled 

with their sadness and aching 

as we pity the lost sense of purpose

of a single shoe.

We wonder

what happened to its companion

and what was the great disturbance 

that separated them here

of all places

ending this perfect pair.

I always assume it must have been 

something very substantial

because, after all

they were made for each other

their relationship

so much more than gloves

easily lost from lack of commitment.

When new, they were a couple

bound with purpose and common characteristics 

and except for a slight leaning 

of perspective left or right

their direction was united - forward or back

they stood ready, always together

for daily conquests on city streets

or grand evenings of celebration

or flip-flopping on the beach.

Now, in separation

do they think of each other and imagine

they are living some grand new life

glad to be rid of their annoying partner

and that incessant squeak

or have they too been discarded

to dream of things done differently

had they known their last dance

was a prelude to the end of sharing

I always wonder how long it took

before they realized the other was gone

to an unceremonious resting place

unmarked by the side of the road.

Ken Owen   2013

Van Niddy Press