His Shoes
His shoes had a bright shiny metal thing inside,
because -
as a child I had been told he had bad feet,
but when he took me swimming in the sea
they never looked bad to me;
because -
as an adult I knew he had fallen arches,
-that means running to you and me -
to Hazebrouck and back via Stalag VIIIB.
And in a box all the kit for cleaning,
one for brown and another for black.
He polished the soles of his shoes
as well as the uppers.
But went barefoot to his funeral.
Shoes not permitted
when the departed are cremated.