Student Publishing Program ::

Nicole Sekula

The New Shoes

The new shoes reflected
the world in their tiny frames.
quivering
at the danger of their smooth souls.

Climbing up the monkey bars
their lustrous metal edges laughed
as the frightened shoes began to lose their hold
and they tugged the rest of the body down with them

Hit. The ground.
Their journey finished,
they rested, but it was not up to them to stop
the rest of the five year old frame kept falling

It was not up to them to prevent the fragile
skull from crashing into the metal edges.
They felt utterly helpless
when it started gushing red liquids

they felt deep shame as they were rushed
to the emergency room.
Even more, they felt extreme neglect when they were
put into a corner of the basement
and never used again.

[TABLE OF CONTENTS, LHS CLASS OF 2013 EDITION]