Shoe in the Woods

walking by the woods one day
trash scattered like seashells on a beach
beer cans mostly featuring some condoms
washed up from teenagers partying
i saw something that made my heart

skip a beat, if only for a second
an old sneaker playing peekaboo in a pile of leaves
faded green in color with a worn heel
top of it was covered in leaves and vines

what was attached I wonder in the woods
could I decipher the cause of death
either from foul play or natural causes?
covered by the leaves except for one shoe?
I leaned closer for the shoe to tell me its secrets

like you would lean close to a friend,
telling you who they have a crush on
speculation running in my mind as I cupped my ear
but the shoe said nothing

Josh Young is a poet and writer from Richmond VA. He is fairly new to writing and has only had a few poems published in small magazines. Many of his poems focus on social justice, city living, and are sometimes just humorous. In addition to writing poetry, Josh Young also does open mics and slam poetry.

Image: Ralf Steinberger from Northern Italy and Berlin, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons