All These Shoes

All These Shoes

As a Child:

I kicked off little shoes

blue as the sky,

one went Whoosh-Klunk,

the other skimmed like a butterfly

then I ran through puddles

and water flew – mud spattered too

but mommy said okay

‘cause I’m her boy – I was four.

As a Teen:

I kicked off big sneakers

as Angela blew a kiss,

she’s a friend – and I hurried

to charge the rugby ball

we wrestled and tugged like

young men do, testing muscles

and speed , she knew I rode

the wind and could score too.

As an Adult:

I sit on the edge of our couch

pull off expensive shoes

one at a time. Tired from work

feels good, home again

my little boy runs to me

gives a great big hug, says

“I love you dad.” Feels so good

from my little man. It’s

time to tell him a story --

of a little boy and how much

fun it is to run

through puddles, kicking up mud

yelling and having lots of fun.

(c) 2016-08-23 Richard L. Provencher