The Red Shoes

Folder:

36. The Lover (11.28.25)

From the back of my closet I felt their stare

Though I worked overtime to avert my eyes.

How blessed I am they waited patiently there,

Poised for the moment I’d finally realize.

Since then I’ve been lured by self-reckoning,

Ashamed of how I failed to heed their call

Through years of ruby-throated beckoning

When I was lucky they were mine at all.

Now I’m there for them as they are for me,

Privileged always to display them proudly.

From now on I’ll focus on freedom tasted

Instead of brooding on the years I wasted

And put that spirit out there all the more –

I owe it to the ones who came before.

I understand life is for living

For this is a season of giving.

Joy must pave the path I choose –

I’m proud to wear the red shoes.

I won’t worry about what happens on the street

Should anyone stop to judge me there.

I’ll let them dazzle and sparkle upon my feet,

Step into sunshine without a care.

They weren’t made to be a hidden gem

But seen proudly in the light of day.

Someone young may need to see them

And realize they, too, will be okay.

Maybe this is my place at the changing of season.

It seems all things happen in their time for a reason.