A pair

A pair of fancy sneakers

can make a boy of 12 float up 

into the clouds & feel the outstretched arms

of screaming fans.  

None of the other kids I raised 

complained about Payless shoes 

but this last child would rather walk barefoot

across a live power line.  

So, because he’s very shy, 

because he pleads for a taste

of the world’s love, 

I agree to buy a pair of Jordans 

that cost more than 

the monthly payment 

for my Honda CRV.  

Then he wears them every day 

until the sole splits from the foxing.

You could say he fell in love 

with his shoes 

without which he would return 

to his old life 

as a ghost. 

The shoes make him real. 

They bless his life. 

Or something like that.  

But any moment now 

he’ll see the love the world gives 

won’t come this easily again.  

All who have sought it know 

the world’s passions wear thin. 

Thinner than the soles on his 

sneakered feet.  

.