Scott Simpson · Poetry

Worn Leather

Use For Kindling · source pages 36, 37

The original line breaks, stanza spacing, and placement are preserved. Long lines scroll horizontally.

Source page 36

Worn Leather

There were shoes

that made us

smaller.

Tight around the toes,

shining

but cruel—

we wore them

Source page 37

for appearances,

for approval,

until we forgot

how to walk

our own way.

Still,

somewhere,

in the back of the closet,

is a pair

that fits.