National Poetry Month, v. 7.0, day 7

I am not normally sentimental when it comes to articles of clothing.  Today, though, I am expecting a package in the mail, containing, of all things, a new pair of shoes.  These are not ordinary shoes.  No, these are new cycling shoes!  I can hear it now - "Wait, you have shoes just for cycling?"  Why yes - yes I do.  Why??  It's simple, really - power transfer.  The shoes come with cleats, and the cleats fit into the specifically-designed pedals so that my feet don't just slip off them mid-stroke, and I can better transfer the power from my legs through the pedals and the chain, gears, etc.  For those of us who are avid cyclists - read as, "clowns on bikes, spandex mafia, weirdos with gears, or my personal favorite, whores with dignity" - new shoes and cleats are amazing.  So, I am awaiting these in the mail.

WHY is this important?  Because - in getting this new pair, I am finally retiring my old pair...the first pair of cycling shoes I ever bought.  I am amazed that I got this much wear out of them.  I probably should have replaced them a few years ago, but alas, I didn't.  Every fit specialist, cycling coach or trainer is probably rolling his/her eyes at this fact right now.  Yes, I held on to them for too long, and it is time to say farewell to these old and tired shoes.  AND THAT is the inspiration for today's poem.  Yup, and ode to these shoes.  I hope you enjoy, and as always....

Thanks for reading.

Me

another man's shoes

they are dirty,
ripped and torn in places,
the treads on the bottom long ago
lost their roughness,
so the footing is no longer secure.

they are comfortable,
stretched out along the contours of me,
a familiar sight among my belongings,
a color my eye is trained to seek out
even in the darkest of nights.

but these shoes do not belong to me -
they belong to the man who bought them,
for whom they were an inspiration,
a way out of a previous life,
a means to further himself,
to become more.

I have been trodding in his shoes,
feeling his pains and triumphs,
knowing his path,
for it was my path,
and i am no longer the man who bought these shoes.