Experiment 3
Reminders on Footwear
Reminders on Footwear.
Five thousand pairs of shoes for refugees -
The fittest gift for those who wander
Trying to acclimatise.
They should be waterproofed with linseed oil
Or blood will do (remove all plasma;
Let the residue congeal.)
They can be reinforced with wrought-steel tips -
You know how children scuff the leather
Kicking everything to bits.
They should stand up to wear. You see the ruts
By roundabouts - how giddy children
Centrifugal, grind up dust.
They must resist all climates, should not crack.
And here it's mild enough in winter -
Frosty once or twice a week.
On candied lawns some schooltimes, what appears
An intermittent code of sunlight
Dodges concrete thoroughfares.
Late morning warmth abliterates this morse;
Its content cannot be deciphered
For better or for worse.
If worse, all gifts are late for refugees
Who flee from no specific centre,
Who feel no need of shoes.