shoes
i have these shoes that squeak when i walk
a pair of black size
10 ½ nike sneakers
non-descript
non-threatening
a pair of shoes that should by rights
allow a man to slide by in this world under the radar
except they squeak when i walk
squeak
squeak
squeak
like i’m a grocery store clerk
people notice these shoes and kids laugh
my co-worker asked me if i needed
some wd-40 for them
this fucking pair of black size 10 ½ nike sneakers
the first pair of nike that i ever bought
the cheap sneakers i always bought
never squeaked like this
but these do
a week ago they made some lady squint on the bus
a two year-old copied their sound
until his mother dragged him away
it’s what i get for laying down money in america
squeak
squeak
squeak
as i walk to work
as i walk through record stores of the damned
looking through cds
they’re one more thing to draw attention
these aren’t the kind of shoes one can easily
slip through the cracks with
this motherfucking pair of black size 10 ½
big deal nike sneakers
with the stupid swoosh the same color as the shoes
so you can’t tell anyway
squeak
squeak
squeak
i should’ve bought a new watch instead of them
the final straw with the shoes came last night
when i was walking home from work
the crazy man from my street stopped me
he’s so crazy he stops everyone
so i didn’t think anything about this encounter at first
but then he said to me, jesus, pal
you need to get some oil for them shoes
they’re as bad as mine
i took a listen as we walked along in tandem
sure enough
squeak and squeak
and squeak and squeak
and squeak and squeak
like we were both in some kind of
fucked up club together
two morons in these ridiculous
motherfucking pairs of black size 10 ½
big deal nike sneakers
with the stupid swoosh the same color as the shoes
so you can’t tell anyway
walking along sounding like we were killing ducks
i told crazy man i’d see what i could do
before squeaking home as quickly as i could
where i took the shoes off
and threw them against the wall
vowing never to wear them again
i shouted, i’m going back to my boots
and i don’t care if they have holes
and soak my feet whenever it rains
i shouted until the upstairs neighbor pounded
on my ceiling
until my wife came home and told me
that i was being silly
she said, you’re a grown man
why in the hell are you worried about what people think
about your shoes or anything else?
my wife has a point, sort of
but she doesn’t really understand
because she has a pair of light gray chuck taylor
canvas shoes that don’t squeak at all when she walks
she doesn’t have two year olds mocking her
people offering to buy her some lube
the crazy man comparing notes on our choice of footwear
she can get by unnoticed
unlike me
squeaking deep into the night
like a sad shroud of gloom
doomed to wear this chain of commerce
this pair of black size 10 ½ nike sneakers
at least until the soles give out.
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