Hole In The Hedgerow

Blood-stained crimson boots
That carried me so long
With the memory of each step in the leather folds
Polished scarlet with spit and love
Until the wrinkles shined like an old man’s wink at the sun
For keeping my toes safe
My body upright
My soles walking
My soul going
Disintegrating off me as ash
Grounded heels from dragging feet
Rusted buckles and laces that creak
Cracks now full of rust
And cobwebs catching dust
Now the thin soles rest in the harbor beside a door
Home to spiders and mice