I remember the first time

Walking into that old shoe store

That seemed to have seen more than its time

Walking along that scraggly pavement

Saw the weeds sashaying side to side

Displaying their venom ridden heads

Turning and tossing so in such a fashion

For the eye to catch a sinful glimpse

I remember the old woman

Peering down at me from her big old podium

Squinting hard at me the way crows do

When they haven’t seen food for days

Try this on boy

I felt the rough leather in my hands

Worn like the old store itself

Holes and patches from the wearer before

I wanted to tell her that I didn’t like them

That they didn’t fit me when I tried them on

That it stung to walk around in them

That the color didn’t feel like me

Her beady eyes peered into my depths and she said

Boy you know this is a one size fits all world

We don’t do half sizes, we don’t do no in betweens

When I saw you, I knew those shoes would be yours

As I walked away from the store

I realized how restricting the path felt

Snaking through parts it only wanted me to walk through

Guiding me in a one way direction

I longingly looked back at those wildflowers

How I wanted to be like them

Rebellious, brazen, courageous

Sticking up their heads proudly for all to see

Neither held back nor drawn in

They grow freely, wildly

Of all shades and colors

Of all in-betweens