don’t leave me please

loneliness has never been a friend to me

it leaves me thinking

about you

and your red shoes

the ones you grab right before you left

the ones that I cleaned

the ones that you said you didn’t like

you left with those

my favorite pair

of red shoes

the ones my mother gave to me when I was young

pure

and happy

why’d you have to take those

maybe because they were my favorite shade of cherry red

or because they never seemed to smell

or because they fit you better

with your toes hanging out the top

and your heel coming out the end

they always fit you better

those poor red shoes