Dance Shoes

Abandoned dance shoes

In the middle of the polished oak floor, tired

Golden fabric tops wrinkled and thread-bare

From months of stepping, sliding and gliding,

From moving until rhythms and routines

Were not-quite-perfect.

​

Soft suede soles caked in grit scraped

From the floor with each pressed slide:

Suede embedded in suede,

Residue of other abused shoes.

Suede worn thin

From multiple wire-brush strokes.

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Abandoned dance shoes

Strewn in the middle of the dance floor

Alone, wet from sweat and limp from use

While the bare feet that

Recently occupied them

Pad away in search of a pair of street shoes