A little shoe frayed at the edges
sweeps away the shadows
that are haunting a man,

and
tries to whisper back the pieces of him.

Pit pat pit pat,
it brings him back to the first track.

About who he once tried to become,
from the tiny footsteps that used to follow him
with absolute trust.

A little girl once wore it
for her very first steps—
with an unsteady stride
she never let go of his hand.

The trust that little girl gave him
once brought pride,
but also a carefulness within the man—

because
he never wanted her to get hurt.

The shoe that carried those first small steps
once taught a man within him
that even the strongest are meant to be softened.

That little shoe is a fragment,
leading the man back
to the part of himself he almost forgot.