Old shoes

are old friends

I’ve walked everywhere in them.

Old friends

are like old shoes

they’re comfortable

worn-out, and not much use

but as I get older

I care less about what things can do for me

and I love those shoes

because

we have a history.

I’ve walked a million miles away from home

and they’re always with me.

Why do we leave home?

To conquer our destiny?

My destiny is right here, in my old shoes

that I take with me, wherever I go.

They’re a small town, that fits perfectly

in the big cities

with lots of shoes

that get tossed away

without a second thought, because they’re used.

That’s what people do with shoes

I know dozens of people who have dozens of shoes

I only have one or two

because

I take care of them

and they take care of me

We go places together

Sometimes,

somebody looks at my shoes

and they grimace

in pain

while staring at my fancy suit

Why? They wonder, wouldn’t he

give those shoes away?

He is better

than his shoes

but that’s not true.

I get older

and my shoes get older still

New ones don’t fit me in the same way as the old

Maybe, I’m sentimental

But we’ve been places together

and that matters

or perhaps, I should’ve never worn

shoes—

going barefoot, in the sand

but I don’t think so.

Shoes, are the friends of feet

and I don’t always like to look at my toes.

Empty shoes

are a sad sight—they’ve been somewhere.

Empty suits, don’t care.

In death, I insist on being buried with my shoes

What will they do

without me?