It is one of the enduring mysteries of modern times:
a lone shoe on the highway, abandoned
and without its sole mate (pun intended).
So, how did it get there?
It is a question that has seemingly been asked
since the times of lone sandals turning up
on the streets of ancient Rome.
How did they all get there?
The mystery of the abandoned footwear
has been wearing on me
since I was a boy,
starring out the window,
looking for cows and horses…
punch buggies and shoes!
Taking the time
to examine this existential phenomenon,
I have never lost ONE shoe,
even in darkest, drunkest nights,
so how are there
so many random, single shoes on the highway?
It’s like Cinderella’s objet trouvé,
a comic strip cliche,
a gardener’s symbol of retirement
occupying the horizon like a dead body,
mystifying my eyes and mind for a time.