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.
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