Shoeless

I’m walking in a space
where loneliness pervades
it screams it’s unheard whispers
where in the midst of daylight
the birds sing on, unknowing
of my presence

When the shale dark of night
abounds and surrounds
with a crispness in its embrace
the pinholes up above now
twinkle and wink but not
knowing that I see them

As I stand alone
with only wet socks on my feet
when I step no one hears
me walking for I have
lost my shoes that once creaked
and others would at least
turn to see where the irritating
sound was coming from

Friends dismiss me now when once
they shared in a smile
now that I no longer
wear shoes like they do
uncaring of how I lost them
in the mire of life
they no longer hear me walking
caring little if that’s all
I might have lost

Family finds a moment
to wish me well
but they too have lost
something in life’s mire
distracted by their wanderings

Somewhere, hopefully, in a drawer
a chamber of their heart
they have for me a dry
pair of socks and when they
remember to offer them
I shall dry mine and give
them to that forgotten soul
sitting in that cold wet corner
forgotten by others but not by me
who knows what
it is to lose one’s shoes