I filled in shoes
with missing soles.
Pretending
gulping down hardened saliva.
Beads of sweat at my Adam\'s apple
glistened.
Pain tasted like pride.
Toes twitched
at the sting of a recluse spider,
living in the corners
of the worn-out leather.
\'Perfect fit \"exclaimed the world
pumping me for the marathon
on mountains.
The path was clear of
any wildflowers
weeds
or seeds.
Walking the trail
a destiny thinned out
into borrowed footsteps.
The edge of the cliff
was reached
without ceremony.
The journey of a soleless shoe
and soulless self
by miles that arrived