Lost in the Frost

A child lost its shoe. In the cold.
Dropped from a carriage? A dangling foot under mom’s arms?
Mom didn’t notice.
The logistics of daily life commands concentration.
A dropped shoe falls through the calculations
until it breaks on the price of a new one.
Small feet grow fast.
Unusually worn for so young a child.
A hand-me-down? Second hand?
Mom didn’t say. No time to talk.
Just a few words to soothe a cold foot
from a heart under a shadowed season.

The tattoo has no magic.
Charm evaporated from the jacket after a week.
Its promise of warmth betrayed.

Have you seen a child walking in the frost?
One bare foot?
A cloudy mom that never rains?

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“So many lost souls looking to find a way while walking in the wrong direction.”
Dartwill Aquila

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