The Golden Shoe

Gold to my feet it was,

a treasure trove of comfort!

That is how I would like

to remember its brief life.

It wasn’t a pretty shoe, to say the least.

But like that proverbial saying

of that which tastes bad

is probably good for you,

foot comfort usually only comes

in ugly and with a price tag.

 

What value can be placed upon that which

eases the miles that we must tread?

Sad but true, its sole mate had finally departed,

leaving its partner in peril of the landfill.

 

So, I had this idea of a symbolic gift.

The surviving shoe was spray painted

in a golden hue, laces and all,

and mailed off to its new home!

The birthday gift was to remind

my “poking fun of” niece

that something ugly can be

more attractive than beauty.

 

Perhaps the golden shoe’s final resting place

will be in an attic, a closet,

a doorstop, or better, a planter

for another living thing, or worse –

discarded in the trash

before the truth is realized!

 

But the fate of the gift

would be decided by my niece.

Sometimes, ugly is simply golden.

But some people never seem to get that,

even if sole-food for thought.